Pneumothorax, music and balloons: A case series
A 16-years-old man presented to our emergency department (ED) with a sudden onset of severe right sided chest pain while playing musical instrument. The pain was sharp and pleuritic in nature and there was no associated shortness of breath. As part of his studies, he has been playing trumpet. This activity results is generation of very high mouth pressures and possibly increased intra-thoracic pressure. He had never smoked and denied the use of illicit drugs and was not on any regular medications.\nOn physical examination, he was haemodynamically stable with oxygen saturations of 99% breathing room air with a respiratory rate of 16 per minute. The systemic examination including cardio-respiratory system was unremarkable. A chest radiograph showed a small right apical pneumothorax []. After a period of observation for few hours, he was discharged to have a follow up with the respiratory team. The pneumothorax resolved on follow up chest radiograph taken a week later.