Congenital cystic malformation masquerading as a lung abscess in an adult: A report of a rare case

Abstract

A 19 year-old male was getting admitted repeatedly, for complaints of cough with expectoration and fever since last 10 years. On the basis of clinical examination and radiological investigations lung abscess of right lower lobe was suspected. Non-functioning right lung lobe of the patient was removed surgically and sent for histopathological examination. Histopathology showed it to be cystic adenomatoid malformation of lung type I, with no evidence of any other specific disease. Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) is an anomaly of lung development characterized by proliferation of abnormal bronchiolar structures of varying sizes and distribution. It is usually diagnosed in infancy. It is rare in adults. Awareness about this entity help clinicians while making differential diagnosis of recurrent pulmonary infection limited to one lobe. Morphological identification of CCAM is important as Type I CCAM; the most frequent subtype is associated with an increased incidence of malignant transformation.