Congenital lobar emphysema

Abstract

Congenital lobar emphysema is a rare disease, which is characterized by pulmoner hyperinflation. Depending on the degree of bronchial obstruction, the clinical presentation may be variable. We report a rare case with congenital lobar emphysema in a 38-days-old male infant who presented with severe respiratory distress and hypertension. Air trapping in the left upper lung and significant mediastinal shift to the right were observed on the chest x-ray. Emphysematous changes were detected on the thorax computed tomography and considered as congenital lobar emphysema. The upper left lobectomy was successfully performed by pediatric surgeons. On postoperative follow up, no sign of respiratory distress occurred and the patient was normotensive. In this report, a case with congenital lobar emphysema, which is a rare cause of respiratory distress and hypertension is discussed.

An Unusual Presentation of Congenital Lobar Emphysema

“…As noted above, the pathophysiological development of congenital lobar emphysema has not yet ben elucidated, but abnormalities including bronchial cartilage, intrinsic and extrinsic bronchial obstructions, vascular anomalies, alveolar disease, and cytomegalovirus infection have been considered possible factors that can lead to a ball-valve obstruction where a bigger air volume enters the lobe during inhalation than leaves during expiration with following air trapping [ 1 , 8 , 9 ].…”