{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]],"date-time":"2026-06-27T23:32:17Z","timestamp":1782603137283,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":8,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"9","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,10]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Pneumocephalus is defined as the abnormal presence of air in the intracranial cavity. Pneumocephalus is most commonly caused by trauma, but there are rare reports of pneumocephalus secondary to allergy-induced sinusitis. In this report, we present a woman in her 60s who presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of headache after experiencing a \u2018popping\u2019 sensation in her ears while sneezing. Over the course of a day, she began experiencing severe pain across the forehead along with copious amounts of clear rhinorrhea. A head CT without contrast was ordered, and findings revealed large amounts of intracranial air visualised diffusely throughout the subarachnoid spaces and the anterior horn of the left lateral ventricle. A diagnosis of pneumocephalus was confirmed. This patient made a full recovery without surgical intervention. Standard conservative therapy included bed rest, head elevation, avoidance of activities that increase intracranial pressure and antibiotic prophylaxis for meningitis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2024-261096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,25]],"date-time":"2024-09-25T22:40:14Z","timestamp":1727304014000},"page":"e261096","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Non-surgical resolution of pneumocephalus following a sneeze"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6789-6731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Tankersley","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3311-8713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheena","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5379-4313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kaitlyn","family":"Estes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9568-386X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cameron","family":"Paisley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01401900"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.2","unstructured":"Jhaveri MD , Salzman KL , Ross JS , et al . ExpertDDx: Brain and Spine E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2017."},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.3","unstructured":"M Das J , Bajaj J . Pneumocephalus. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2020. Available: https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK535412\/"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.4","first-page":"1828461","article-title":"A Rare Case of Spontaneous Pneumocephalus Associated with Nontraumatic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak","volume":"2016","author":"Baba","year":"2016","journal-title":"Case Rep Neurol Med"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.5603\/PJNNS.a2021.0014","article-title":"Pneumocephalus as a rare complication: a systematic review plus clinical vignette","volume":"55","author":"\u015ami\u0142owska","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurol Neurochir Pol"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.3340\/jkns.2010.47.5.395","article-title":"Spontaneous pneumocephalus associated with pneumosinus dilatans","volume":"47","author":"Lee","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Korean Neurosurg Soc"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1527","DOI":"10.1016\/j.radcr.2023.01.057","article-title":"Pneumocephalus following sneeze suppression","volume":"18","author":"Munshi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Radiol Case Rep"},{"key":"2025082800372952000_17.9.e261096.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3171\/jns.1988.68.1.0058"}],"container-title":["BMJ Case Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2024-261096","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,28]],"date-time":"2025-08-28T07:37:40Z","timestamp":1756366660000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/casereports.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2024-261096"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]},"references-count":8,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,25]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bcr-2024-261096"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bcr-2024-261096","relation":{},"ISSN":["1757-790X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1757-790X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]}}}