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Clinical Challenge
Radiology
January 23, 2020

Subcutaneous Emphysema of the Neck With Pneumomediastinum

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, Louisiana State University Shreveport, Shreveport
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020;146(3):306-307. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2019.4456

A man in his 30s presented to an outside emergency department with left-sided otalgia and periauricular swelling. He was discharged after being prescribed oral antibiotics but continued to have worsening symptoms and returned to the outside facility, where a noncontrasted computed tomographic (CT) scan of the neck and chest showed significant subcutaneous emphysema of the neck and mediastinum (Figure, A and B). He was subsequently transferred to our facility for additional treatment.

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