Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A Complication of Forceful Nose-Blowing

2007; Elsevier BV; Volume: 120; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.amjmed.2006.11.016

1555-7162

Amy Fix, Valerie J. Lang,

Trigeminal Neuralgia and Treatments

Four days prior to presentation, our patient was feeling well when he forcefully blew his nose and felt a “pop.” Immediately following this incident, he began to experience pain above his left eye. Over the next 4 days, the intensity of his headache increased and worsened each time he blew his nose. Two days prior to presentation he developed a clear discharge from his right nostril which recurred when he leaned forward. On the day of admission to an outside hospital, the patient’s headache became severe, and he had an episode of vomiting. At the outside hospital, over the course of 3 hours, he became febrile to 38.2° C, and his mental status declined to the point of unresponsiveness. A head CT revealed diffuse subarachnoid air. He was given a dose of ceftriaxone and transferred to the university hospital for further evaluation. The 73-year-old male patient had a history of type II diabetes and remote cutaneous melanoma. According to the family, he had no recent history of head or facial trauma and no recent viral illness. They reported that he regularly blew his nose forcefully.