Mediastinitis (patient information)

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Mediastinitis

Overview

What are the symptoms?

What are the causes?

Who is at highest risk?

Diagnosis

When to seek urgent medical care?

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for Mediastinitis?

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible complications

Prevention

Mediastinitis On the Web

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

Images of Mediastinitis

Videos on Mediastinitis

FDA on Mediastinitis

CDC on Mediastinitis

Mediastinitis in the news

Blogs on Mediastinitis

Directions to Hospitals Treating Mediastinitis

Risk calculators and risk factors for Mediastinitis

For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Assistant Editor-in-Chief: Alexandra M. Palmer

Overview

Mediastinitis is swelling and irritation (inflammation) of the area between the lungs (mediastinum). This area contains the heart, large blood vessels, windpipe (trachea), esophagus, thymus gland, lymph nodes, and connective tissues.

What are the symptoms of Mediastinitis?

What causes Mediastinitis?

Mediastinitis may occur suddenly (acute) or may develop slowly and get worse over time (chronic). Most cases occur in patients who have had open chest surgery. Less than 5 percent of patients develop mediastinitis after having chest surgery.

Patients may have a tear in their esophagus that causes mediastinitis. Causes of the tear include:

Other causes of mediastinitis include:

Who is at risk for Mediastinitis?

Risk factors include:

When to seek urgent medical care?

Contact your health care provider if you have had open chest surgery and develop:

If you have tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, or sarcoidosis and develop any of these symptoms, contact your health care provider right away.

Diagnosis

Signs of mediastinitis in patients who have had recent surgery include:

Tests include:

Your health care provider may insert a needle into the area of inflammation and remove a sample to send for gram stain and culture to find the source of any infection.

Treatment options

You may receive antibiotics if you have an infection.

You may need surgery to remove the area of inflammation if the blood vessels, windpipe, or esophagus is blocked.

Where to find medical care for Mediastinitis?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Mediastinitis

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

How well a person does depends on the cause of the mediastinitis.

Mediastinitis after open chest surgery is very serious. There is a significant risk of dying from the condition.

Possible complications

Complications include the following:

Scarring can be severe, especially when it is caused by chronic mediastinitis. Scarring can interfere with heart or lung function.

Prevention

The only way to prevent mediastinitis related to chest surgery is to keep surgical wounds clean and dry after surgery.

Treating tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, or other conditions associated with mediastinitis may prevent this complication.

Sources

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000081.htm

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