@article{ref1,
title="Esophageal rupture after ghost pepper ingestion",
journal="Journal of emergency medicine",
year="2016",
author="Arens, Ann and Ben-Youssef, Leila and Hayashi, Sandra and Smollin, Craig",
volume="51",
number="6",
pages="e141-e143",
abstract="BACKGROUND: The ghost pepper, or &quot;bhut jolokia,&quot; is one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. Ghost peppers have a measured &quot;heat&quot; of > 1,000,000 Scoville heat units (SHU), more than twice the strength of a habanero pepper. To our knowledge, no significant adverse effects of ghost pepper ingestion have been reported. CASE REPORT: A 47-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with severe abdominal and chest pain subsequent to violent retching and vomiting after eating ghost peppers as part of a contest. A subsequent chest x-ray study showed evidence of a left-sided pleural effusion and patchy infiltrates. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis showed pneumomediastinum with air around the distal esophagus, suggestive of a spontaneous esophageal perforation and a left-sided pneumothorax. The patient was intubated and taken immediately to the operating room, where he was noted to have a 2.5-cm tear in the distal esophagus, with a mediastinal fluid collection including food debris, as well as a left-sided pneumothorax. The patient was extubated on hospital day 14, and was discharged home with a gastric tube in place on hospital day 23. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Spontaneous esophageal rupture, Boerhaave syndrome, is a rare condition encountered by emergency physicians, with a high mortality rate. This case serves as an important reminder of a potentially life- threatening surgical emergency initially interpreted as discomfort after a large spicy meal.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0736-4679",
doi="10.1016/j.jemermed.2016.05.061",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2016.05.061"
}