What causes a pneumatocele?

In adults, causes include infections, trauma, and chemical pneumonitis. Most common infectious causes are Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia. Traumatic causes of pneumatocele include blunt injury to the chest causing contusions an continuous positive-airway pressure in mechanical ventilation [1].

What is pulmonary pneumatocele?

Pulmonary pneumatoceles also referred to as pseudocysts in the literature, are air-filled thin-walled cysts that are formed in lung interstitium. They can be single but are more often multiple. The term “pseudocyst” signifies a lack of an epithelial lining.

What does pneumatocele mean in medicine?

A pneumatocele is an acquired air-filled cyst resulting from leakage of air via an airway into a region of parenchymal injury, for example, resolving pneumonia.

What is a traumatic pneumatocele?

Traumatic pneumatocele is a rare complication of blunt chest trauma with uncertain pathogenesis. It occurs primarily in pediatric patients and is characterized by sin- gle or multiple pulmonary cystic lesions concomitant with other type of injuries of the lung parenchyma.

How is a pneumatocele formed?

A pneumatocele results when a lung laceration, a cut or tear in the lung tissue, fills with air. A rupture of a small airway creates the air-filled cavity. Pulmonary lacerations that fill with blood are called pulmonary hematomas. In some cases, both pneumatoceles and hematomas exist in the same injured lung.

What bacteria causes pneumatocele?

Pulmonary pneumatoceles can be single emphysematous lesions but are more often multiple, thin-walled, air-filled, cystlike cavities. Most often, they occur as a sequela to acute pneumonia, commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

What happens if a pneumatocele ruptures?

If unrecognized and untreated, this can result in respiratory failure and death. Pneumothorax can occur from a pneumatocele rupturing into the pleural space. This can lead to collapse of the lung, requiring evacuation of the pleural air to reexpand the lung.

How is pneumatocele treated?

Medical care for pneumatocele is treatment of the underlying condition. In most circumstances, this involves administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat the pneumonia. Therapy should be directed against the most common bacterial organisms in children, including S aureus and S pneumoniae.

What are the symptoms of pneumatocele?

Pneumatocele symptoms Mild, moderate, or severe respiratory distress may be present, with tachypnea, retractions, grunting, and nasal flaring. Fever is almost always present and may be as high as 104-105.8 °F (40-41°C). Lung examination findings vary depending on the stage of the pneumonia.

What is the pathophysiology of air pneumatocele?

Air dissects down these corridors to the pleura and forms pneumatoceles, a form of subpleural emphysema. Traumatic pneumatocele has a different pathophysiology from the infectious type 18), developing in a 2-step process.

What is the background of A pneumatocele?

Pneumatocele 1 Background. Pulmonary pneumatoceles are thin-walled, air-filled cysts that develop within the lung parenchyma. 2 Pathophysiology. Since the 1950s, multiple theories have been proposed as to the exact mechanism… 3 Epidemiology. Incidence of postinfectious pneumatocele formation ranges from 2-8% of all cases…

What causes pneumatoceles in children?

In children, pneumatoceles commonly occur as a complication to severe pneumonia. [2] Among the several pneumonia-causing organisms, bacterial pathogens, Streptococcus pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus are the commonest pathogens causing pneumatoceles in children.

What can cause similar symptoms to pneumatocele?

Diagnosis. Differential diagnoses, other conditions that could cause similar symptoms as pneumatocele, include lung cancer, tuberculosis, and a lung abscess in the setting of Hyper IgE syndrome (aka Job’s syndrome) or on its own, often caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection during cystic fibrosis .