Bilateral congenital lobar emphysema: A rare cause for respiratory distress in infancy

Bilateral congenital lobar emphysema: a rare entity and a therapeutic challenge

Background

Bilateral congenital lobar emphysema is an extremely rare condition, and detailed workup of these patients is very important. Operative intervention is usually based on radiological, biochemical, and clinical details. Bronchoscopy gives an added advantage in cases with diagnostic dilemmas and makes the treatment more evidence based. We here present three cases and review the literature for this rare entity.

Material and methods

We retrospectively collected data about all the cases of bilateral CLE operated by the authors at various centres over the period of 3 years from January 2016 to December 2018.

Results

We managed three cases of bilateral CLE, and all three had unique details based on which treatment was planned. We operated three cases of this very rare entity and compared our findings with 23 cases from the literature reviewed.

Conclusion

We propose that bronchoscopy should be an essential component in the management of all cases of CLE. It helps in defining pathology, the severity of the disease, and the decision on which side to be operated first and avoids unnecessary simultaneous lobectomies. We recommend case selection on basis of radiological, biochemical, clinical, and bronchoscopy criteria. Based on this, an approach of sequential lobectomies is less risky and should be advocated in most of the patients.

Fatal congenital lobar emphysema in a puerpera: a case report and literature review

Background

Congenital lobal emphysema (CLE) is a developmental lung abnormality usually diagnosed in the neonatal period and is rarely observed in adults. Adults with CLE are usually asymptomatic and only a small fraction may present with coughing, recurrent pneumonia and respiratory distress. In imaging studies, the most frequently affected lobe of CLE is the left upper lobe, followed by the right middle lobe. However, multilobar involvement with severe mediastinal shift is extremely rare.

Case presentation

We report a case of fatal CLE in a 28-year-old puerpera with postpartum respiratory failure. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed emphysema of the right upper, middle and lower lobes resulting in adjacent atelectasis. Hyperinflation of the right upper lobe crossed the midline, leading to a deviation of the mediastinal structure to the left hemithorax and severe compression of the left lung.

Conclusions

Early and timely diagnosis of CLE with routine follow-up is necessary for patients. CLE, especially with multilobar involvement or mediastinal shift, could be life-threatening and should be promptly and aggressively treated to prevent severe complications.

One-Stage Bilateral Lobectomy in an Infant with Bilateral Congenital Lobar Emphysema

We report a 4-month-old baby presenting with bilateral congenital lobar emphysema. A two-staged bilateral lobectomy was planned, but bilateral lobectomy had to be performed as a single-staged procedure. Data are scarce on the appropriate approach to children with bilateral involvement. Both single-staged and two-staged procedures have shown variable success.

A Novel Approach to Facilitate an Ideal Surgical Correction of Congenital Lobar Emphysema by Using Neonatal Ultrathin Bronchoscopy-Guided Endo-Bronchial Block

This is a case report of a child who had acyanotic congenital heart disease - ventricular septal defect (VSD) and a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. The child underwent open-heart surgery - VSD closure with PDA ligation - and six months later was re-admitted for congenital lobar emphysema of the right middle lobe. He underwent successful right middle lobectomy of the lung six months after cardiac surgery under a one-lung ventilation technique in which application of fiber-optic bronchoscope made the surgery safer and more suitable.

Congenital lobar emphysema in bilateral lung lobes: a case report

Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) is a rare congenital anomaly of lung. It presents different respiratory symptoms due to affected lobar emphysema, compression atelectasis and mediastinal shift. It can affect one or more lobes. There is usually no typical clinical manifestation in clinic. Typical X-ray can help to diagnose. We report a case of neonatal CLE, which first appeared in the right middle lobar. After right middle lobe (RML) lobectomy, respiratory distress appeared again. Emphysema was found again in the left lower lung. The multiple lobes emphysema appear at different times, and this case occurred after lobectomy.

Congenital lobar emphysema: diagnosis and treatment options

Although congenital lobar emphysema is a rare lung disease, it can cause severe respiratory distress in the newborn. Lobectomy can be difficult because of the hyperinflated lobe and limited space to carry out surgery. During the past two decades, conservative treatment options have increased for patients with mild and moderate disease.

Congenital lobar emphysema. A rare cause of hypertension

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

Congenital lobar emphysema is an uncommon bronchopulmonary malformation characterized by lobar overinflation and accompanying alveolar septum damage that leads to compression atelectasis of the lung parenchyma and displacement of mediastinal structures, with the resultant ventilation-perfusion mismatch. We present a case of a 33-year-old lady with progressive exertional dyspnea. Chest radiograph findings lead to the suspicion of congenital lobar emphysema, which was then confirmed by a computed tomography (CT) scan. This condition is most commonly identified in newborns, with very few cases being reported in adults. Lobectomy remains the treatment of choice and in general has good outcome.

Left Upper Lobectomy for Congenital Lobar Emphysema in a Low Weight Infant

Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) is a rare lung congenital malformation. Differential diagnosis of the disease remains challenging in an infant with acute respiratory distress. We report a case of a 3-week-old female infant with a weight of 2.1 kg who presented respiratory distress related to CLE. Left upper lobectomy was performed and she had an uneventful recovery.

A case of congenital lobar emphysema in the middle lobe

Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) is a rare cause of respiratory distress during the neonate period. It is characterized by overinflation of pulmonary lobe, most commonly the left upper lobe or the right middle lobe. We report a case of a 21-day-old baby with the severe respiratory distress. Diagnosis of CLE was made by computed tomography scan and chest X-ray and confirmed by histopathological studies. We would like to draw attention to this rare condition, and discussing their clinical features and management.