[Simultaneous spontaneous pneumomediastinum caused by vocal exercise; report of 2 cases].

Two cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum caused by vocal exercise were reported. Two 18-year-old men were admitted to our hospital simultaneously in April 2003, because of cervical discomfort and chest pain after vocal exercise of self introduction as a event of freshman in their college. Their chest X-ray film and chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated typical pneumomediastinum. One of them also showed thoracic epidural emphysema without any particular neurological deficit. Both cases completely recovered by only conservative therapy within 5 days. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum which occurs frequently in young men is thought to be a relatively rare disease showing a good prognosis. It seems important to consider this rare condition when the young man complaints chest pain and discomfort around their neck. We thought that there must be a high possibility of this disease being overlooked as a mere chest pain in young man of unknown reason until now. It is our conclusion that spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a really benign condition that requires no specific examination nor therapy.