A case for the therapeutic use of perfluorocarbon in pulmonary atelectasis

This is a case report formatted as a clinical handover discussion between a junior ward paediatrician (SB) and senior paediatric intensive care consultant (AD) and cardiology consultant (GM). SB: I have been handed over a 3-year-old patient from the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). She has a complex medical history and spent the first year of her life in PICU. She had a repair of a hypoplastic-aortic-arch and a tracheo-oesophageal fistula as a neonate but remained ventilator dependent for months with left main bronchus (LMB) compression. Separation from the ventilator was eventually achieved, after a failed aortopexy, with a 20x6 mm Palmaz metallic stent inserted into the LMB. This permitted discharge home for 2 years but she gradually outgrew the neonatal stent, which had become embedded within the LMB. She represented with recurrent chest infections and left lung collapse, thus necessitating removal and replacement of the LMB stent. The patient...
Source: Thorax - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Chest clinic Source Type: research