Background. Lung sequestration is a subtype of congenital lung malformations; it is infrequently diagnosed in adults and is a rare cause of hemoptysis. The typical management of symptomatic lung sequestration is usually surgical, though intra-arterial embolization is becoming an acceptable alternative. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 36-year-old female patient who presented for an acute onset of hemoptysis. CT chest showed an intralobar sequestration of the right lower lobe lung segment. In addition to the sequestration, the chest imaging also revealed a number of associated abnormalities including double superior vena cava communicating through a bridge, absence of brachiocephalic venous trunk, cardiac dextroposition, and agenesis of the right middle lobe. Outcome and Discussion. The transarterial embolization was selected for being mini-invasive and effective. It successfully controlled the bleed and led to complete regression of the sequestered lung on the follow-up CT chest several months later. Conclusion. Successful management and complete regression are possible with mini-invasive intra-arterial embolization of lung sequestration. Although it is not uncommon to have associated congenital cardiopulmonary abnormalities with lung sequestration, however the exceptional abnormalities described in this case have never been reported before.

Dima Siblani

Ghassan Abi Chedid

Samir Challita

Sylvana el Zoghbi

Béatrice Le Bon Chami

Rare Combined Congenital Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Malformations Revealed by Acute Hemoptysis

Introduction. Strongyloides stercoralis causes a helminthic infection that occurs via penetration of the skin with migration to the bloodstream, tracheobronchial tree, and gastrointestinal system. Pulmonary manifestations are rare and are typically seen in immunosuppressed patients who have Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome. Eosinophilic pleural effusions are rare in strongyloidiasis and only cited in a few case reports. Case Presentation. A 45-year-old male with a past medical history of diabetes mellitus, alcoholic cirrhosis, and end-stage renal disease presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and dyspnea. Imaging studies demonstrated large bilateral pleural effusions, and he subsequently underwent an ultrasound-guided thoracentesis on the right hemithorax, yielding an exudative eosinophilic pleural effusion. An extensive hematology, gastroenterology, and infectious work-up was pursued. Strongyloides immunoglobulin G was positive, and he was successfully treated with ivermectin. Discussion. Eosinophilic pleural effusions related to strongyloidiasis are exceedingly rare. Clinicians should consider Strongyloides stercoralis infection as a part of the differential diagnosis when evaluating immunosuppressed patients with eosinophilic pleural effusions. Loculated abdominal fluid may also be a rare manifestation of Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome.

Alexander T. Phan

Luke Buxton

Mohammad Waqas Choudhery

Henrik Ghantarchyan

Curtis Converse

A Rare Case of an Eosinophilic Pleural Effusion and Loculated Ascites Associated with Strongyloides stercoralis Hyperinfection Syndrome in California

Legionella bozemanii pneumonia is a rare form of Legionnaires’ disease caused by the bacterium Legionella bozemanii. It is well known to cause pneumonia in immunocompromised patients and has rarely been reported in immunocompetent hosts. We describe a case of a 59-year-old immunocompetent female presented with pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress, and septic shock, who was treated with azithromycin, goal-directed resuscitation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) but did not survive. Clinicians should have high suspicion of rare legionella pathogens as causative agents for pneumonia.

Atif Saleem Siddiqui

A Fatal Case of Legionella bozemanii Pneumonia in an Immunocompetent Patient

A 60-year-old man treated with valproic acid (VPA) for epilepsy developed atelectasis and respiratory failure after an accidentally aspirated VPA tablet-induced mucus hypersecretion. Following bronchoscopic removal of the aspirated tablet, his respiratory status improved and massive sputum production did not recur. We hypothesized that the aspirated VPA tablet increased the expression of mucin-related genes, thereby increasing mucus production. Our in vitro experiments using a human respiratory epithelial cell line revealed that VPA directly upregulates the airway mucin-related genes. We believe that this is the first case report of aspirated VPA-induced severe atelectasis and respiratory failure, which were successfully treated with the bronchoscopic removal of the VPA tablet.

Tomomi Tanigaki

Takunori Ogawa

Sakika Nomura

Koki Ito

Yuhei Kurata

Akira Matsukida

Morio Ishihara

Aihide Yoshino

Akihiko Kawana

Yoshifumi Kimizuka

Severe Atelectasis due to Aspirated Valproic Acid Tablet

Background. Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) commonly presents as bilateral reticulonodular and cystic lung changes on chest imaging. Isolated lung nodule presentation is rare. Case Presentation. Our patient was an elderly male and an active smoker, who was referred to the pulmonology clinic for an incidental 19 mm lung nodule seen on a chest CT scan. A CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy was performed to rule out malignancy. The biopsy sample showed marked inflammatory infiltrate with abundant eosinophils and epithelioid histiocyte-like cells suggestive of Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Antibodies against CD1a and Langerhans were positive which confirmed the diagnosis. During follow-ups, the patient had reduced smoking, and the lung nodule had decreased in size to 14 mm. Conclusion. An isolated lung nodule in a patient with a smoking history always warrants a malignancy workup. Characteristic pathological findings with immunostaining are necessary to differentiate pulmonary LCH in these cases. Failure to perform immunostaining in such cases may lead to missing this vital diagnosis.

Tessabella M. Magliochetti Cammarata

Sushan Gupta

Sai Sri Harsha Rallabhandi

Vishesh Paul

Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis: An Unusual Differential for a Solitary Lung Nodule

Acute mitral regurgitation typically presents with dyspnea, chest pain, and hemodynamic instability. It is an uncommon cause of hemoptysis. We present a case of a patient presenting with dyspnea and hemoptysis without hemodynamic instability along with right-sided infiltrate on chest radiography a few days after an acute inferolateral STEMI who was found to have posterior papillary muscle rupture resulting in acute mitral regurgitation. Our case illustrates that the aforementioned symptoms and signs should raise concern for acute mitral regurgitation and prompt cardiac evaluation in the appropriate clinical setting as they may mimic acute pulmonary processes and delay critical diagnosis and treatment.

Joanna Wieckowska

Nicholas Diloreto

Shannon Hood

Isabella Chojnacki

Dalia Zakri

Hemoptysis and Unilateral Pulmonary Infiltrates due to Severe Acute Mitral Regurgitation from Papillary Muscle Rupture

About this journal

Case Reports in Pulmonology publishes case reports and case series in all areas of pulmonology, prevention, diagnosis and management of pulmonary and associated disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.

Journal profile

Meet the editorial board

Case Reports in Pulmonology maintains an Editorial Board of practicing researchers from around the world, to ensure manuscripts are handled by editors who are experts in the field of study.

Editor spotlight

Find out more

This journal's articles appear in a wide range of abstracting and indexing databases, and are covered by numerous other services that aid discovery and access. Find out more about where and how the content of this journal is available.

Abstracting and Indexing

Author guidelines

Editorial board

Databases and indexing

Case Reports in Pulmonology - Table of contents 2024

title

Case Reports in Pulmonology publishes case reports and case series in all areas of pulmonology, prevention, diagnosis and management of pulmonary and associated disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.

Case Reports in Pulmonology