Self-Inflicted Pneumomediastinum: A Case Report.

Self-inflicted wound can present with various scenarios. It is well known that the purpose of a self-inflicted wound is to avoid obligatory duties. During war, soldiers get self-inflicted wounds to seek medical leave in the hope to save their lives from deadly battle. Self-induced pneumomediastinum from oral lesion with valsalva maneuver was a rare practice among prisoners to get rid of that imprisoned life and to stay in the hospital. Self-inflicted wound is also commonly seen in patient with psychosomatic disorders. It relates observations from forensic medicine and psychiatry to specific clinical symptoms, toxicological circumstances and social influences e.g. stress incurred by everyday life, war, imprisonment etc. In particular cases, it clears up criminal and civil jurisdiction. It also gives importance to private insurers about cases of self-mutilation. There is also concern about insurers, forensic scientists and psychiatrist about their responsibilities and the procedure they follow in the examination, their jurisdiction and the treatment involving the cases of self-inflected injuries. To our knowledge, self-inflicted subcutaneous emphysema causing pneumomediastinum by a normal young boy out of curiosity and without any apparent ill motive, is an unusual finding and possibly no such case report was published before.