Sports-Related Pneumothorax☆,☆☆,★

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Abstract

Pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum are rare complications of athletic activity. Spontaneous pneumothorax has been reported in association with several sports, but reports of pneumothorax associated with blunt trauma sustained during sporting activity are rare. We present a case series of patients in whom pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum developed as a result of blunt trauma sustained during participation in a contact sport. [Partridge RA, Coley A, Bowie R, Woolard RH: Sports-related pneumothorax. Ann Emerg Med October 1997;30:539-541.]

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INTRODUCTION

Although rare, pneumothorax has been reported in association with several sports. Scuba divers, for example, are known to be at risk for spontaneous pneumothorax.1 Spontaneous pneumothorax associated with weightlifting has also been described.2, 3 A case of spontaneous pneumothorax in a jogger has been reported.4 Although emergency physicians may have some knowledge of spontaneous pneumothorax associated with sports, very little information is available on pneumothorax associated with blunt

CASE REPORT

Patient 1 A 25-year-old man presented to the ED complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath of 3 hours' duration. He had been playing ice hockey earlier that day and had sustained a full-body “check,” or blow, to his chest. After the blow, the patient experienced sharp chest pain, which worsened with inspiration and recumbency, and progressively worsening shortness of breath. Physical examination revealed a healthy young man in no obvious respiratory distress. Blood pressure was 102/63 mm

DISCUSSION

Chest trauma sustained in sporting injury occurs infrequently; only 2% of all adult thoracic injuries requiring medical treatment are sports related.6 Serious injuries to the chest (eg, rib fracture, costochondral separation, sternoclavicular dislocation) resulting from blunt trauma sustained during athletic activity have been reported but are rare.7, 8 These injuries alone are not life threatening, but they raise the possibility that a more serious underlying thoracic injury is present. Blunt

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From the Brown University School of Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI.

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Address for reprints: Robert A Partridge, MD, MPH, Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, 593 Eddy Street, Samuels Building, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903

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Reprint no. 47/1/84575

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