Spectrum of congenital lung malformations in children: experience from a tertiary care Centre

INTRODUCTION: A variety of developmental abnormalities of the tracheobronchial tree and pulmonary parenchyma are found in the newborn. There is limited data available on their presentation and clinical course from third world countries.
METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records of children with congenital lung malformations was conducted at our tertiary care hospital from June 2014 to June 2018.
RESULTS: The study included 30 patients with 12 males and 18 females. Mean age at diagnosis was 13months (range 1month to 4 years). Congenital pulmonary airway malformation was the most common malformation present in 18(60%) patients followed by congenital lobar emphysema in 4(13.3%), bronchogenic cyst in 3(10%), bronchopulmonary sequestration in 2(6.7%), bronchial atresia in 2(6.7%) and pleuropulmonary blastoma in 1(3.3%) patient. Most common presentation was recurrent upper respiratory tract infection (53.3%). Lobectomy was the most common surgical procedure performed in 86.6% of the patients followed by excision of cyst in 10% of the patients. Post operative complication rate was 30% with an overall survival of 93.3%. Average follow up duration was 9 months.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The predominant lung malformation in this study was Congenital pulmonary airway malformation. Recurrent respiratory tract infection with or without respiratory distress was the most common mode of presentation. Health education to raise the awareness and emphasis on antenatal ultrasonography can avoid the inordinate delays in diagnosis and treatment. Surgery is curative with good long-term outcome.