A Rare Complication of Boerhaave's Syndrome: Tension Pneumothorax

Abstract

Boerhaave's syndrome is a very rare disease characterised by spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus. Clinical presentation is varied and may depend on the cause, location, size, degree of contamination, and site of injur y. Patients may present with abdominal pain, pneumothorax, hydropneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum. Tension pneumothorax after esophageal perforation has been rarely reported in the medical literature. In our report, a case of tension pneumothorax secondary to Boerhaave's syndrome in a 44-year-old male is presented here.

Image Quiz: A 35-Year-Old Male with Sudden Dyspnoea

“…This is rupture of the oesophagus and one more serious cause of pneumomediastinum that may lead to mediastinitis or even tension pneumothorax, usually after emesis and vomiting effort and could be excluded by contrast studies. 4…”