Slideshow: Children With Pulmonary Conditions

Welcome to our latest slideshow! Click through the slides to view images and read cases about children with pulmonary conditions. Each slide links to the full case report for more details.

A 7-week-old girl presented with a chief concern of fussiness. The physical examination revealed a well-appearing infant. Abdominal radiographs showed a nonspecific bowel gas pattern, along with an incidental finding of opacities in both lower lungs. Chest radiographs and a follow-up chest computed tomography scan revealed patchy, bilateral alveolar infiltrates.

Read the full case here.

A 9-month-old girl presented to the emergency department (ED) during the winter with a 4-day history of rhinorrhea, a 2-day history of cough, and a 1-day history of increased work of breathing. The girl had been born prematurely at 32 weeks of gestation and had a history of trisomy 21, tracheomalacia, and subglottic stenosis. The patient had had 2 prior episodes of bronchiolitis, with normal chest radiography findings at 5 months of age in the ED.

Read the full case here.

A 12-year-old previously healthy boy presented to the emergency department with a 2-week history of headaches, malaise, and fever. During that time, the patient had been evaluated multiple times, with various diagnoses ranging from viral syndrome to acute otitis media and pneumonia. Despite treatment with amoxicillin, cefdinir, and azithromycin, his symptoms failed to improve. Additionally, the patient developed a nonproductive cough and decreased oral intake with a 1.4-kg weight loss.

Read the full case here.

A 2-year-old boy presented to the emergency department with a persistent cough with production of green purulent sputum. The patient’s medical history was significant for a febrile seizure and repair of mixed total anomalous pulmonary venous return with stenting of left and pulmonary vein confluences, as well as respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis 1 month before admission. His primary care physician had prescribed 5 days of prednisolone out of concern for a cough that likely was a symptom of reactive airway disease. On the final day of corticosteroid therapy, the patient’s mother had noticed that the boy suddenly had developed difficulty breathing and felt feverish.

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A newborn boy with a variant of unrepaired Tetralogy of Fallot had been sent for surgery for associated tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, imperforate anus, and scrotal fistula. During a routine cardiology clinic visit at 1 month of age, he developed respiratory distress unrelated to his heart defect. Pulse oximetry readings were 60% to 65% in room air, and breath sounds were diminished in the right lower quadrant. The infant was hemodynamically stable, and his pulmonary stenosis murmur was unchanged. A chest radiograph obtained 1 hour prior to the visit revealed mild cardiomegaly with increased pulmonary vascularity but no acute pulmonary disease. 

Read the full case here.

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