Pneumorrachis Secondary to Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum in an Adolescent

Date of submission: 03-03-2019 | Date of acceptance: 08-10-2019 | Published: 02-04-2020

Abstract

Pneumorrhachis is the acumulation of free air around the duramater and is infrequently diagnosed in Pediatric patients. In this report, the development of pneumorrhachis secondary to spontaneous pneumomediastinum is described in a 15-years-old teenager. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum was most likely related with the patient´s underlying asthma, which became aggravated following a respiratory infection, probably of viral etiology. The pneumorrhachis was asymptomatic, and its diagnosis was made through computed tomography, performed following the diagnosis of pneumomediastinum. The patient was hospitalized and pneumorrhachis was treated with oxygen supplementation and analgesia. After clinical improvement, the patient was discharged at day 6 of hospitalization. One month later, a new computed tomography demonstrated complete resolution of the pneumorrhachis. The present clinical case is accordingly to what has been described in the literature and we believe that its presentation will increase the awareness of Pediatricians to this infrequent condition.