Learn About Mediastinitis

What is the definition of Mediastinitis?

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

What are the alternative names for Mediastinitis?

Chest infection

What are the causes of Mediastinitis?

Mediastinitis usually results from an infection. It may occur suddenly (acute), or it may develop slowly and get worse over time (chronic). It most often occurs in person who recently had an upper endoscopy or chest surgery.

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

  • A procedure such as upper GI endoscopy
  • Forceful or constant vomiting
  • Trauma

Other causes of mediastinitis include:

  • A fungal infection called histoplasmosis
  • Radiation to the chest
  • Inflammation of the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, or other tissues (sarcoidosis)
  • Tuberculosis
  • Breathing in anthrax
  • Cancer

Risk factors include:

  • Disease of the esophagus
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Problems in the upper gastrointestinal tract
  • Recent chest surgery or upper GI endoscopy
  • Weakened immune system
What are the symptoms of Mediastinitis?

Symptoms may include:

  • Chest pain
  • Chills
  • Fever
  • General discomfort
  • Shortness of breath

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

  • Chest wall tenderness
  • Wound drainage
  • Unstable chest wall
Not sure about your diagnosis?
Check Your Symptoms
What are the current treatments for Mediastinitis?

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.

Who are the top Mediastinitis Local Doctors?
Chukwumere E. Nwogu
Thoracic Surgery
Thoracic Surgery

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Elm And Carlton St, 
Buffalo, NY 
 46.9 mi

Chukwumere Nwogu is a Thoracic Surgeon in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Nwogu and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Mediastinitis. His top areas of expertise are Lung Cancer, Pleuropulmonary Blastoma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Vagotomy, and Endoscopy.

Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology
1645 West 8th Street, ENT Specialists Of NW PA, 
Erie, PA 
 39.6 mi

Andrew Steehler is an Otolaryngologist in Erie, Pennsylvania. Dr. Steehler and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Mediastinitis. His top areas of expertise are Retropharyngeal Abscess, Mediastinitis, Nasal Polyps, and Spasmodic Dysphonia.

 
 
 
 
Learn about our expert tiers
Learn More
686 Bay Street, 
Toronto, ON, CA 
 87.7 mi

Shaun Morris practices in Toronto, Canada. Morris and is rated as an Experienced expert by MediFind in the treatment of Mediastinitis. His top areas of expertise are Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), Zika Virus Disease, Typhoid Fever, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

What is the outlook (prognosis) for Mediastinitis?

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

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

What are the possible complications of Mediastinitis?

Complications include the following:

  • Spread of the infection to the bloodstream, blood vessels, bones, heart, or lungs
  • Scarring

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

When should I contact a medical professional for Mediastinitis?

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

  • Chest pain
  • Chills
  • Drainage from the wound
  • Fever
  • Shortness of breath

If you have a lung infection or sarcoidosis and develop any of these symptoms, see your provider right away.

How do I prevent Mediastinitis?

To lessen the risk of developing mediastinitis related to chest surgery, surgical wounds should be kept clean and dry after surgery.

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

What are the latest Mediastinitis Clinical Trials?
Correlation of the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation-II (EUROSCORE-II) With Preoperative Score to Predict Post-Operative Mortality (POSPOM) in Cardiac Surgery: A Single Center, Retrospective, Cross- Sectional Study

Summary: In cardiac surgery patients, due to the surgical burden combined with existing comorbidities, evaluating the preoperative clinical status of patients and predicting mortality rates has become an important issue of interest for clinicians. For this purpose, mortality has been predicted with various scoring systems. EUROSCORE is a scoring system used worldwide that predicts preoperative mortality fo...

Match to trials
Find the right clinical trials for you in under a minute
Get started
Prevention of the Risk of Complete Sternotomy Scar Dehiscence in Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized, Open-label Multicenter Clinical Investigation Comparing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) vs. Standard Dressing

Summary: Mediastinitis is the most feared infectious complication after cardiac surgery. Several risk factors are known such as: obesity, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, double breast sampling, immunodeficiency, corticosteroid therapy, reoperation, chest radiotherapy, and dialysis. Three modes of contamination are described: intraoperative contamination, hematogenous dissemination during s...

Who are the sources who wrote this article ?

Published Date: September 10, 2022
Published By: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Associate in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

What are the references for this article ?

Lentz RJ, Loyd JE. Mediastinitis and fibrosing mediastinitis. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 116.

Van Schooneveld TC, Rupp ME. Mediastinitis. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 85.