TITLE:
Tietze’s Syndrome in the emergency department: A rare etiology of atraumatic chest pain
AUTHORS:
Lee Grodin, Gino Farina
KEYWORDS:
Tietze’s Syndrome; Atraumatic Chest Pain
JOURNAL NAME:
Case Reports in Clinical Medicine,
Vol.2 No.3,
June
5,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Tietze’s Syndrome is an uncommon disorder that presents with painful,
tender, non-suppurative swelling of the anterior chest wall. We report a case
of a female patient who presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint
of atraumatic chest pain and swelling of the anterior chest wall. After a
thorough history and physical examination, as well as basic laboratory tests
and chest radiography, she was diagnosed with Tietze’s Syndrome. The expedient
accurate diagnosis of Tietze’s Syndrome is important for the physical and
emotional well-being of a patient, and avoids overlooking more dangerous pathologies. Tietze’s Syndrome needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with
spontaneous swelling of the anterior chest.