costochondritis
Sign in to saveAlso known as costalchondritis, costochondral junction syndrome, costochondritis NOS, chest wall pain syndrome, costosternal syndrome
Key facts
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Chest wall pain syndrome, costosternal syndrome
- Medical condition.image
- Gray390.png
- Medical condition.caption
- The costal cartilages
- Medical condition.name
- Costochondritis
- Medical condition.field
- Family medicine, internal medicine, general practitioners, rheumatology, orthopedics
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Chest pain
- Medical condition.risks
- Strenuous coughing, exercise, lifting, infection of the costosternal joint
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Clinical physical examination and the ruling out of other conditions
- Medical condition.differential
- Acute coronary syndrome, pneumothorax, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, angina, myocardial infarction, Tietze syndrome, slipping rib syndrome, rib fracture, fibromyalgia, pneumonia
- Medical condition.treatment
- Analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ice, heat, rest, manual therapy, TENS unit, injections, opioids
via Wikipedia infobox
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
17 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- Presentation
- Comorbidity
- Cause
- Pathogenesis
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnosis
- Cardiopulmonary
- Musculoskeletal
- Other
- Outlook, treatment and prevention
- Outlook
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Epidemiology
- References
- External links
Costochondritis, also known as chest wall pain syndrome or costosternal syndrome, is a benign inflammation of the upper costochondral (rib to cartilage) and sternocostal (cartilage to sternum) joints. 90% of patients are affected in multiple ribs on a single side, typically at the 2nd to 5th ribs. Chest pain, the primary symptom of costochondritis, is considered a symptom of a medical emergency, making costochondritis a common presentation in the emergency department. One study found costochondritis was responsible for 30% of patients with chest pain in an emergency department setting.
The exact cause of costochondritis is not known; however, it is believed to be due to repetitive minor trauma, called microtrauma. In rarer cases, costochondritis may develop as a result of an infectious factor. Diagnosis is predominantly clinical and based on physical examination, medical history, and ruling other conditions out. Costochondritis is often confused with Tietze syndrome, due to the similarity in location and symptoms, but with Tietze syndrome being differentiated by swelling of the costal cartilage.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “costochondritis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.