Teenage Girl’s Lungs Collapse After Attending One Direction Concert
A 16-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital after watching a concert of her favorite boy band, One Direction. Doctors say her case is bizarre with collapsed lungs after finding out that she screamed her lungs out during the concert.
The teenager who was from Texas experienced difficulty in breathing just after the concert. The girl had no reported history of respiratory problems. When the symptoms persisted when she woke up the day, her parents decided to bring her to the hospital.
After doing some medical tests, the doctors revealed on The Journal of Emergency Medicine that she had a spontaneous pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and pneumoretropharyngeum. There are underlying causes that trigger these conditions including acute asthma exacerbations, respiratory infections, vomiting, and barotrauma.
According to BBC, this is the first case that the doctors have recorded so far. The girl's attending physician at the Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Dr. J Mack Slaughter, revealed that the levels of her oxygen were normal. The girl also seemed to be "seriously ill."
However, her respiratory rate is 22 times per minute which is higher than the normal rate of 12-16 times per minute. This made them lead to the conclusion that something is wrong. "But instead of breathing a normal 12-16 times a minute, she was breathing 22 times a minute," Dr. Slaughter said. "So we knew something was a little off by that."
Dr. Slaughter also confirmed through a physical examination that the teenage girl had subcutaneous crepitus. It is a symptom where "a crunchy sound - like the sound Rice Krispies make - when you press on certain parts of the body."
The Independent, however, reported that the girl had Diabetes. The medical team did not find anything wrong with the CT scan, but they thought she had torn her respiratory tract due to strained breathing while her blood sugar was low.
The teenage girl was then sent home when she was stable and safe. Although it a rare condition, doctors warn parents to be cautious of their children's health.
