Congenital pulmonary airway malformation-Two case reports and diagnosis challenges in a resource limited setting

Abstract

Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation (CPAM) is a rare abnormality of pulmonary airway malformation and may remain undiagnosed until it is discovered as an incidental finding later in life. Reported here are two cases of CPAM, a seven-month-old infant and a two-year-old toddler. A seven-month-old ex-premature male infant presented with recurrent pneumonia and failure to thrive. He had an unresolving consolidation on chest radiograph and was eventually treated as pulmonary tuberculosis with no response. Computerised tomography scan (CT-scan) chest revealed bilateral CPAM of lungs. A 2-year-old female toddler presented to the University Teaching Hospital, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, as a referral from a second level hospital with a long-standing history of recurrent symptoms and signs of pneumonia with failure to thrive. She was commenced on antituberculous treatment with no improvement. A CT-scan of the chest revealed bilateral CPAM of lungs. These two cases highlight clinical, diagnostic and treatment challenges in children with CPAM in a resource limited setting like Zambia.