Spontaneous pneumomediastinum.

Pneumomediastinum is the presence of air in the mediastinum. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is an infrequent, benign, and self-limiting condition that predominantly affects young males and pregnant females. It is important to distinguish pneumomediastinum symptoms from similar clinical findings that require immediate treatment, such as cardiac tamponade, angina pectoris, dissecting aortic aneurysm, mediastinitis, and pulmonary embolism. This report describes 2 cases of SPM managed at University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf during the period 2000 to 2001. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum should be considered whenever there are anamnestic data for retrosternal chest pain that radiates to the neck or back accompanied by dysphagia, dysphonia, dyspnea, and a positive Hamman's sign.