lung and airway disorders
Mediastinitis
Diagnosis of Mediastinitis
Chest x-ray and usually computed tomography (CT) Doctors can often make the diagnosis of mediastinitis based on the symptoms if people have a condition that can cause mediastinitis—for example, if people have symptoms that suggest mediastinitis and have recently had a procedure involving the chest or the esophagus or have tuberculosis or another slowly developing infection. When mediastinitis develops suddenly, symptoms are usually severe enough that doctors suspect it in people who cannot report possible causes, such as those who are intoxicated and do not remember vomiting forcefully or young children who may have swallowed a caustic substance or button battery. The diagnosis is confirmed by a chest x-ray and usually CT. When mediastinitis occurs in a person who has had median sternotomy, doctors may insert a needle into the chest through the breastbone and remove fluid for examination under a microscope (aspiration biopsy). 