A Case of Post-Traumatic Pulmonary Pseudocyst Mimicking Pulmonary Cavitary Tuberculosis.

Lee, Hyun Jeong; Kang, Ji Young; Yim, Sun Mie; Ji, Eun Hye; Kim, Ji Hyun; Kim, Sei Won; Lee, Sang Haak; Moon, Hwa Sik; Lee, Bae Young

doi:2009.67.5.467

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 67(5); 2009 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2009;67(5):467-470.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2009.67.5.467 Published online November 1, 2009.

A Case of Post-Traumatic Pulmonary Pseudocyst Mimicking Pulmonary Cavitary Tuberculosis.

Hyun Jeong Lee, Ji Young Kang, Sun Mie Yim, Eun Hye Ji, Ji Hyun Kim, Sei Won Kim, Sang Haak Lee, Hwa Sik Moon, Bae Young Lee

¹Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. mdlee@catholic.ac.kr
²Department of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

A traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst is a rare complication of blunt thoracic trauma. The clinical symptoms and signs are similar to other respiratory diseases, such as pulmonary tuberculosis. Therefore, a trauma history with the resulting radiologic and clinical findings is important for making a diagnosis. A 26-year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to cough for 3 days. The chest x-ray revealed diffuse infiltrations and a cavitary lesion at the left lung. His left chest had hit a tree as a result of motorcycle accident one day before admission. Initially, it was assumed that his symptoms and chest X-ray might be due to a tuberculosis infection. However, bronchoscopy revealed old blood clots at both lungs, particularly in the left lower lobe bronchus. A transbronchial lung biopsy showed alveolar hemorrhage. A traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst was diagnosed from his trauma history and these findings. Computed tomography of the chest performed 4 months later showed regression of the cavitary lesion.

Key Words: Lung Injury, Cysts, Wounds and Injuries, Cavity