A radiolucent cystic lesion in a chest radiograph of a breathless child − a case report

A radiolucent cystic lesion is a common finding on chest radiographs of children presenting with acute breathlessness, and congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) is a relatively uncommon cause of it. The majority of children with CPAM present with respiratory distress of varying severity in the neonatal period. Here, we discuss the case of an 18-month-old child who had a recent history of worsening breathlessness, and on thorough evaluation, he was diagnosed as having CPAM (type 1 variant). Inadvertent chest tube insertions should be avoided in these cases, as it can worsen the underlying condition. A computerized tomography (CT) chest scan plays a key role in diagnosing and assessing the therapeutic intervention in these cases. Surgical resection of the lesion is curative and has an excellent prognosis in the majority of cases of type 1 CPAM.