Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea
Giant bullae are bullae that occupy at least 30 percent of a hemi thorax. This condition can rarely be idiopathic and not usually suspected in young patients with no risk factors. We describe a case of a giant solitary pulmonary bulla in a healthy young female with no known risk factors. 23-year-old...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Respiratory Medicine Case Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007116301587 |
| _version_ | 1819105002882334720 |
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| author | Poornima Ramadas Rumon Chakravarty Prathik Krishnan Anupa Nadkarni |
| author_facet | Poornima Ramadas Rumon Chakravarty Prathik Krishnan Anupa Nadkarni |
| author_sort | Poornima Ramadas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Giant bullae are bullae that occupy at least 30 percent of a hemi thorax. This condition can rarely be idiopathic and not usually suspected in young patients with no risk factors. We describe a case of a giant solitary pulmonary bulla in a healthy young female with no known risk factors. 23-year-old female presented to the Emergency department with dyspnea and pleuritic right sided chest pain. She started experiencing these symptoms when she was on a 7-h flight and later experienced similar symptoms when she went scuba diving. Lung exam revealed decreased breath sounds on the right and she was saturating well on room air. Chest X-ray done showed a large bleb at the right lung apex. CT angiogram done was negative for pulmonary embolism, but confirmed a large bulla involving the right upper lobe. She had no history of lung diseases, marfanoid features, cigarette smoking, drug use or family history of similar condition. She underwent VAT assisted mini thoracotomy with resection of the right apical bulla and tube thoracostomy. Surgical pathology showed a pulmonary bleb with pleural fibrosis and prominent adhesions with parietal pleura and no evidence of malignancy. She was advised to avoid air travel and diving for 3 months and is doing well. Idiopathic giant pulmonary bullae have rarely been reported. It is a rare cause of dyspnea and chest pain in young adults. This may be suspected when patients develop symptoms with air travel and deep sea diving. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:15:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f059e8d5649f4607927c323e90eaf7e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-0071 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:15:20Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Respiratory Medicine Case Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-f059e8d5649f4607927c323e90eaf7e82022-12-21T18:42:18ZengElsevierRespiratory Medicine Case Reports2213-00712017-01-0120C1310.1016/j.rmcr.2016.10.015Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspneaPoornima Ramadas0Rumon Chakravarty1Prathik Krishnan2Anupa Nadkarni3Department of Internal Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USADepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USADepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USAGiant bullae are bullae that occupy at least 30 percent of a hemi thorax. This condition can rarely be idiopathic and not usually suspected in young patients with no risk factors. We describe a case of a giant solitary pulmonary bulla in a healthy young female with no known risk factors. 23-year-old female presented to the Emergency department with dyspnea and pleuritic right sided chest pain. She started experiencing these symptoms when she was on a 7-h flight and later experienced similar symptoms when she went scuba diving. Lung exam revealed decreased breath sounds on the right and she was saturating well on room air. Chest X-ray done showed a large bleb at the right lung apex. CT angiogram done was negative for pulmonary embolism, but confirmed a large bulla involving the right upper lobe. She had no history of lung diseases, marfanoid features, cigarette smoking, drug use or family history of similar condition. She underwent VAT assisted mini thoracotomy with resection of the right apical bulla and tube thoracostomy. Surgical pathology showed a pulmonary bleb with pleural fibrosis and prominent adhesions with parietal pleura and no evidence of malignancy. She was advised to avoid air travel and diving for 3 months and is doing well. Idiopathic giant pulmonary bullae have rarely been reported. It is a rare cause of dyspnea and chest pain in young adults. This may be suspected when patients develop symptoms with air travel and deep sea diving.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007116301587BullaIdiopathicDyspneaChest painPneumothoraxBullectomy |
| spellingShingle | Poornima Ramadas Rumon Chakravarty Prathik Krishnan Anupa Nadkarni Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea Respiratory Medicine Case Reports Bulla Idiopathic Dyspnea Chest pain Pneumothorax Bullectomy |
| title | Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea |
| title_full | Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea |
| title_fullStr | Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea |
| title_short | Dangers of flying high and diving low! An unusual case of dyspnea |
| title_sort | dangers of flying high and diving low an unusual case of dyspnea |
| topic | Bulla Idiopathic Dyspnea Chest pain Pneumothorax Bullectomy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007116301587 |
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