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Subcutaneous emphysema


fireman0928

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I have to agree with the previous poster. I cannot comprehend a question out of what you typed. I have felt Subcutaneous Emphysema 1 time in 4 years, so depending on what the question really is, I may not be any help. It's not one of those things that is terribly common to us Kansans, but it's out there on the select patient. Please clarify the question and we will try to help you out.

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Definition:

Subcutaneous emphysema occurs when air gets into tissues under the skin covering the chest wall or neck. This can happen due to stabbing, gun shot wounds, other penetrations, or blunt trauma. Air can also be found in between skin layers on the arms and legs during certain infections, including gas gangrene.

Alternative Names:

Crepitus; Subcutaneous air; Tissue emphysema

Considerations:

Subcutaneous emphysema can often be seen as a smooth bulging of the skin. When a health care provider feels (palpates) the skin, it produces an unusual crackling sensation as the gas is pushed through the tissue.

Common Causes:

This is a rare condition. When it does occur, possible causes include:

Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)

Ruptured esophagus

Ruptured bronchial tube

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Definition:

Subcutaneous emphysema occurs when air gets into tissues under the skin covering the chest wall or neck. This can happen due to stabbing, gun shot wounds, other penetrations, or blunt trauma. Air can also be found in between skin layers on the arms and legs during certain infections, including gas gangrene.

Alternative Names:

Crepitus

I thought Crepitus was when bone rubbed against bone??

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Just a quick question. When a patient w/ a fracture states they felt/heard a cracking noise could you describe that as Crepitus? If not, what’s the term used to describe that ‘cracking’ noise?

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About 25 yrs. ago in ICU a doc friend motioned me and my partner over. Said, "Feel this". You talk about funky. It was the same guy we got out of a ditch collapse. The guy himself was sort of laughing about it even though he was tubed.

Ain't we sick?

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I thought Crepitus was when bone rubbed against bone??

Yep. That is also true. Crepitus is a term for the sensation of clicking/poping etc. You experience crepitus which leads you to the diagnosis of sub-Q emphysema, TMJ etc.

crepitus (krep´itus),

n a crackling sound such as that produced by the rubbing together of fragments of a fractured bone or by air moving in a tissue space.

crepitus, bony,

n the crackling sound noted during auscultation; also the sensation noted during palpation when the fragments of a fractured bone are rubbed together.

crep·i·ta·tion (krp-tshn)

n.

1. A rattling or crackling sound like that made by rubbing hair between the fingers close to the ear.

2. The sensation felt on placing the hand over the seat of a fracture when the broken ends of the bone are moved, or over tissue in which gas gangrene is present.

3. The noise produced by rubbing bone or irregular cartilage surfaces together, as in arthritis.

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