Post-Traumatic Pulmonary Pneumatoceles: A Case Report

Road accidents are the main cause of serious injuries worldwide, accounting for over 10% of trauma cases resulting in death or significant physical impairment. Thoracic injuries, on the other hand, are responsible for a quarter of all trauma-related deaths. In such cases, pneumothorax is the most common thoracic injury, affecting 30 to 40% of patients with thoracic trauma. This injury occurs twice as often in closed traumas as in penetrating traumas. However, post-traumatic pulmonary pneumatocele is a very rare condition that occurs mostly in children and young adults. It’s often a sequelae of acute pneumonia or barotrauma resulting from alveolar hyperpressure in the context of closed glottis trauma.

Recognizing these injuries quickly can save lives, whether the patient is outside or in a modern intensive care unit.

The reported case is an 8-year-old female child with no medical history, no delayed growth or development, who was involved in a public road accident with a thoracic impact. She presented with hemoptysis and chest pain, and a thoracic CT scan revealed bilateral pulmonary parenchymal contusions predominantly on the right, with post-traumatic pneumatoceles on the right side and a right pneumothorax blade, with good progress under surveillance, oxygen therapy, and prophylactic antibiotic treatment.