A man in his 20s swallowed about a third of a 10-centimeter steamed meat bun without chewing it. Right away, his throat felt tight and his chest hurt, and drinking water did not help. Scans later showed air had leaked into the tissues of his neck and into the mediastinum, the central compartment of the chest that surrounds the heart.
Doctors from Kawasaki Kyodo Hospital and Showa Medical University in Japan described the case in the International Journal of Emergency Medicine on July 3. They argue that swallowing an oversized, unchewed mouthful is an under-recognized trigger for this condition, and one that emergency doctors may not think to ask about.
