Rare Cause of Infantile Respiratory Distress: A Case Report of Lobar Hyperinflation in a Kenyan Neonate

Congenital lobar emphysema is a rare non‑vascular lung malformation with an incidence of 1:20,000-1:30,000 live births. It presents as respiratory distress in the neonatal period and associated imaging findings of lobar hyperinflation. We report on a case from our institution to enhance diagnosis of this rare disorder. A 3‑week‑old male with acute respiratory distress, hypoxia, reduced unilateral breath sounds and pneumonia whose diagnosis was missed on the initial chest radiograph. Current foetal ultrasonography should be able to detect these cases, but they are missed and present with respiratory distress which may be due to infection or the primary disorder. Delay in diagnosis and treatment is associated with mortality from infection and the effects of compression of mediastinal structures. Surgery for symptomatic cases is preferred with good outcomes. Conservative management has been reported in asymptomatic cases, but the risk of missing a malignancy and not confirming the diagnosis by histology, especially for post‑natal diagnosed lesions remains.