Hamman Syndrome: a case study

Abstract

Introduction: Hamman’s syndrome involves the appearance of spontaneous pneumomediastinum associated with emphysema, a rare pathology in pediatrics. Its main symptoms include acute chest pain, dyspnea and subcutaneous emphysema.

Objective: to describe a clinical case of this suspected syndrome by analyzing the diagnostic process, supplementary studies, and treatment.

Clinical case: 4-year-old male with personal history of repeated laryngitis. He presented severe acute laryngitis, requiring non-invasive ventilation for 12 hours. Twenty-four hours after admission he developed abrupt inspiratory stridency, respiratory distress, neck, and face edema with crepitation at neck level and front of thorax spreading to both arms. A chest X-ray shows extensive subcutaneous emphysema. A neck and chest CT scan rules out airway injury. With the suggestion of Hamman’s syndrome in a child who presented acute laryngitis as a predisposing factor the episode, it was decided not to continue with additional studies. Physio-pathological treatment was carried out with good clinical evolution. He was discharged a week after admission.

Conclusions: diagnosis of spontaneous pneumomediastinum can be challenging in an emergency setting and having a variety of potentially life-threatening differential diagnoses. High suspicion levels will enable an adequate clinical and imaging assessment to confirm its diagnosis and avoid unnecessary invasive procedures.