J Korean Soc Radiol.  2011 Jan;64(1):87-90. 10.3348/jksr.2011.64.1.87.

Spontaneous Mediastinitis in a Ten-year-old Girl: A Case Report

• Cho KE
• Kim JH
• Lee MJ
• Kim MJ
• Yoon CS

• KMID: 1443588
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jksr.2011.64.1.87

Abstract

Acute suppurative mediastinitis is an uncommon, life threatening condition with a mortality rate of up to 40%. It is mainly caused by esophageal perforation or post-operative complications, and acute mediastinitis not caused by trauma or surgery is rare. To the best of our knowledge, no cases of spontaneous mediastinal abscess in children have been reported in the English medical literature. We report here on a case of an acute mediastinal abscess in a ten-year-old girl and there was no demonstrable clinical or radiologic etiology for infection.

MeSH Terms

Abscess
Child
Esophageal Perforation
Humans
Mediastinitis
Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The chest radiograph shows mediastinal widening.

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  Fig. 2 The lateral neck radiograph is normal, without retropharyngeal or retrotracheal soft tissue thickening. No foreign bodies or abnormal air densities are seen.

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  Fig. 3 On the contrast enhanced chest computed tomography (CT), extensive inflammation and abscesses involving the entire mediastinum are seen (A and B). The extension of the mediastinal abscess lesion reaches to the level of the left thyroid bed (arrows) (C), although there is no evidence of deep neck infection (not shown).

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