Scrotal emphysema in a burn injury patient

A burn-injured 17-year-old boy suffered from an apical pneumothorax of the right side caused either by placement of a subclavian catheter or by the blast injury. Following this, he developed scrotal emphysema. Air extended along the subcutis of the lateral thoracic and abdominal wall through a lesion in the parietal pleura up to the inguinal canal to the scrotum caused by the positive pressure breathing. After cessation of the PEEP-breathing, there was no recurrence.