Traumatic Mediastinal Hematoma: A Case Report with Literature Review

Traumatic Mediastinal Hematoma: A Case Report with Literature Review | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Case Report Traumatic Mediastinal Hematoma: A Case Report with Literature Review Xiaoyi Li, Chongbin Zhong, Lifeng Li, Peiling Lu, Yunfei Luo, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8505046/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Introduction: Mediastinal hematoma is a clinically rare condition. Because its imaging manifestations closely resemble those of mediastinal tumors, diagnosis can be challenging, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. This article reports a case of post-traumatic mediastinal hematoma and reviews the relevant literature. Case Report: The patient was a 48-year-old male with deaf-mutism. He presented with chest pain, chest tightness, dyspnea, and profuse sweating after a fall injury to the chest. After the injury, he was taken to a local hospital. Chest CT imaging suggested: anterior mediastinal lesion, lung shadow, suspected sternal injury. Due to critical condition, he was transferred to our hospital. Admission examination: T 36.0°C, P 119 bpm, R 24 breaths/min, BP 131/99 mmHg. He appeared acutely distressed and in poor spirits. Bilateral jugular vein distension was noted, with tenderness in the right lower anterior chest. Emergency chest contrast-enhanced CT imaging diagnosis: CT diagnosis of an anterior mediastinal space-occupying lesion, possibly hematoma? After admission, he was monitored and treated in the ICU. After his condition stabilized, CT-guided biopsy of the mediastinal lesion was performed. Pathological examination results indicated mediastinal hematoma. Subsequently, he underwent median sternotomy for mediastinal hematoma evacuation. He was discharged after his condition stabilized and improved. Conclusion Mediastinal hematoma often complicates chest trauma. Medical history and CT imaging have suggestive value for diagnosis. When diagnosis is difficult, further investigations such as chest contrast-enhanced CT or angiography can clarify the diagnosis. Mediastinal hematoma Chest trauma Contrast-enhanced CT Angiography Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Fig.5.jpg Supplementary Materials Fig. 5 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8505046","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Case Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":587690974,"identity":"630aebbc-ec45-4fbb-922e-8df58973f259","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaoyi Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Chuxiong Prefecture People's Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaoyi","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":587690975,"identity":"4817f933-e7e7-4e19-be29-808f44335fdd","order_by":1,"name":"Chongbin Zhong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Cardiovascular and 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Because its imaging manifestations closely resemble those of mediastinal tumors, diagnosis can be challenging, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. This article reports a case of post-traumatic mediastinal hematoma and reviews the relevant literature.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCase Report:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe patient was a 48-year-old male with deaf-mutism. He presented with chest pain, chest tightness, dyspnea, and profuse sweating after a fall injury to the chest. After the injury, he was taken to a local hospital. Chest CT imaging suggested: anterior mediastinal lesion, lung shadow, suspected sternal injury. Due to critical condition, he was transferred to our hospital. Admission examination: T 36.0\u0026deg;C, P 119 bpm, R 24 breaths/min, BP 131/99 mmHg. He appeared acutely distressed and in poor spirits. Bilateral jugular vein distension was noted, with tenderness in the right lower anterior chest. Emergency chest contrast-enhanced CT imaging diagnosis: CT diagnosis of an anterior mediastinal space-occupying lesion, possibly hematoma? After admission, he was monitored and treated in the ICU. After his condition stabilized, CT-guided biopsy of the mediastinal lesion was performed. Pathological examination results indicated mediastinal hematoma. Subsequently, he underwent median sternotomy for mediastinal hematoma evacuation. He was discharged after his condition stabilized and improved.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediastinal hematoma often complicates chest trauma. Medical history and CT imaging have suggestive value for diagnosis. When diagnosis is difficult, further investigations such as chest contrast-enhanced CT or angiography can clarify the diagnosis.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Traumatic Mediastinal Hematoma: A Case Report with Literature Review","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-09 20:55:13","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8505046/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"383665f6-3599-48e8-a5c6-801eb6732223","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-05T08:24:17+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-09 20:55:13","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8505046","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8505046","identity":"rs-8505046","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}