Mediastinitis

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Respiratory system

Chest infection

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

Some of the signs of mediastinitis in patients who have had recent surgery include:

• Chest wall tenderness
• Wound drainage
• Unstable chest wall

Tests include:

• Chest CT scan or MRI scan
• Chest x-ray

Your health care provider may insert a needle into the area of inflammation and remove a sample to send for gram stain and culture to determine the type of infection.

Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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