Boerhaave's syndrome

Boerhaave's syndrome or spontaneous oesophageal perforation, is a potentially lethal and frequently elusive medical condition which presents not only a diagnostic but also a therapeutic challenge. It is insufficiently considered in diagnostic hypotheses, yet may be confirmed or excluded by simple methods such as an erect chest film and a contrast study of the oesophagus. Errors in diagnosis are usually caused by unawareness of its varied and atypical presentations or failure to consider its possibility in acute cardiothoracic and upper gastrointestinal conditions. Early aggressive surgical intervention in the form of open and wide mediastinal and chest drainage, with or without oesophageal repair, resection or exclusion, offers the patient the best chance of survival against this otherwise invariably fatal event. Nonoperative therapy consisting of antibiotics, nil oral regimen, nasogastric tube suction, pleural drainage, H2 receptor blockers and either a feeding enterostomy or total parenteral nutrition, may also be appropriate in selected patients. It is probable that the condition is more common than is generally supposed. All clinicians need to be aware of this lethal disease, its frequently unusual presentations and the importance of early diagnosis.