Pneumomediastinum – CXR and CT

This 22-year-old asthmatic man presented with acute chest pain. Chest x-ray showed air outlining the mediastinum (yellow arrows) and extending superiorly along the trachea into the neck (white arrows), indicating pneumomediastinum with surgical emphysema. Subsequent CT also shows air surrounding the mediastinal structures (arrows). There was no pneumothorax present in this case.