The clicking chest: what exactly did Hamman hear? A case report of a left-sided pneumothorax

摘要

Hamman’s sign is a rare phenomenon. Louis Hamman described this pathognomonic clicking chest noise in association with pneumomediastinum in 1937. This typical noise can also be present in left-sided pneumothorax. Clinical cases already mention this pericardial knock in 1918 in gunshot wounds of the left chest and in 1928 in cases of spontaneous left-sided pneumothorax. However, the sound itself has only rarely been recorded.