Boerhaave syndrome is a rare problem that consists of the spontaneous appearance of a rupture in the esophagus that causes symptoms such as severe chest pain and shortness of breath, for example.
Generally, Boerhaave syndrome is caused by excessive intake of food or alcohol that cause intense vomiting, increasing abdominal pressure and overexerting the muscles in the esophagus that end up tearing.
Boerhaave syndrome is a medical emergency and, therefore, it is important to go to the hospital immediately if you experience acute chest pain or shortness of breath to start treatment within the first 12 hours and avoid serious complications, such as respiratory arrest.
Symptoms of Boerhaave syndrome
The main symptoms of Boerhaave syndrome include:
- Severe chest pain that worsens when swallowing; Feeling of shortness of breath; Swelling of the face or throat; Change of voice.
Typically, these symptoms appear after vomiting, but in some cases, they may also appear some time later when eating or drinking water, for example.
In addition, the symptoms vary in each case, and may show other completely different signs such as excessive desire to drink water, fever or constant vomiting. Thus, the diagnosis is usually time-consuming as the syndrome can be confused with other cardiac or gastrointestinal problems.
Treatment for Boerhaave syndrome
Treatment for Boerhaave syndrome should be done at the hospital with emergency surgery to correct the rupture of the esophagus and treat the infection that usually develops in the chest due to the accumulation of gastric acids and bacteria from food.
Ideally, treatment should be started within the first 12 hours after rupture of the esophagus to prevent the development of a general infection that, after that time, halves the patient's life expectancy.
Diagnosis of Boerhaave syndrome
The diagnosis of Boerhaave syndrome can be made through chest X-ray and computed tomography, however, it is important to have access to the patient's history to exclude other diseases with similar symptoms, such as perforation of gastric ulcer, infarction or acute pancreatitis, which are more common and can cover up the syndrome.
Thus, it is recommended that the patient should always be accompanied, whenever possible, by a family member or close person who knows the patient's medical history or who can describe the moment of onset of symptoms, for example.
