Scimitar syndrome: an uncommon cause of wheezing

Scimitar syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by total or partial anomalous venous drainage of the right lung to the inferior vena cava. The infantile form presents with congestive heart failure and respiratory distress in early months of life. We report here the case of a 6-month-old male child who presented with second episode of respiratory distress and wheeze. Poor response to bronchodilators led to fibreoptic bronchoscopy and computed tomographic scan that revealed bronchial anomalies with aberrant drainage of right lung into the inferior vena cava by scimitar vein. The case illustrates that one of the rare causes of wheezing in an infant could be scimitar syndrome.