Widened mediastinum

Widened mediastinum
Widened mediastinum
Classification and external resources
ICD-9 519.3
DiseasesDB 29459

Widened mediastinum is a mediastinum with a measured width greater than 8 cm on PA chest X-ray.

Associated conditions

A widened mediastinum can be indicative of several important pathologies,[1][2]

  • aortic aneurysm[3]
  • aortic dissection[4]
  • hilar lymphadenopathy
  • inhalational anthrax. A widened mediastinum was found in 7 of the first 10 victims infected by anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) in 2001.[5]
  • esophageal rupture - presents usually with pneumomediastinum and pleural effusion. It is diagnosed with water soluble swallowed contrast.
  • mediastinal mass
  • cardiac tamponade[6]
  • pericardial effusion
  • thoracic vertebrae fractures in trauma patients.

References

  1. ^ Geusens; Pans, S.; Prinsloo, J.; Fourneau, I. (2005). "The widened mediastinum in trauma patients". European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine 12 (4): 179–184. PMID 16034263.  edit
  2. ^ Richardson; Wilson, M. E.; Miller, F. B. (1990). "The widened mediastinum. Diagnostic and therapeutic priorities". Annals of surgery 211 (6): 731–736; discussion 736–7. doi:10.1097/00000658-199006000-00012. PMC 1358125. PMID 2357135. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1358125.  edit
  3. ^ Chandra S, Laor YG (April 1975). "Lung scan and wide mediastinum". J. Nucl. Med. 16 (4): 324–5. PMID 1113190. http://jnm.snmjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=1113190. 
  4. ^ von Kodolitsch Y, Nienaber C, Dieckmann C, Schwartz A, Hofmann T, Brekenfeld C, Nicolas V, Berger J, Meinertz T (2004). "Chest radiography for the diagnosis of acute aortic syndrome". Am J Med 116 (2): 73–7. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2003.08.030. PMID 14715319. 
  5. ^ Jernigan JA, Stephens DS, Ashford DA, et al. (2001). "Bioterrorism-related inhalational anthrax: the first 10 cases reported in the United States". Emerging Infect. Dis. 7 (6): 933–44. doi:10.3201/eid0706.010604. PMC 2631903. PMID 11747719. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2631903. 
  6. ^ Gideon P. Naudé; Fred S. Bongard; Demetrios Demetriades (2003). Trauma secrets. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 95–. ISBN 9781560535065. http://books.google.com/?id=joAIOFKkfRcC&pg=PA95. Retrieved 19 April 2010.