This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Blau, H.
Right arrow Articles by Meizner, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Blau, H.
Right arrow Articles by Meizner, I.
Related Collections
Right arrow Surgery

PEDIATRICS Vol. 109 No. 1 January 2002, pp. 105-108

Postnatal Management of Resolving Fetal Lung Lesions

Hannah Blau, MD*, Asher Barak, MD*, Boaz Karmazyn, MD{ddagger}, Huda Mussaffi, MD*, Joseph Ben Ari, MD§, Tommy Schoenfeld, MD§, Micha Aviram, MD||, Yitzchak Vinograd, MD, Yitzchak Lotem, MD* and Israel Meizner, MD#

* Pulmonology Unit, Schneider’s Children Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel
{ddagger} Radiology Department, Schneider’s Children Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel
§ Intensive Care Unit, Schneider’s Children Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel
|| Pediatric Pulmonology Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheba, Israel
Pediatric Surgery Department, Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
# Ultrasound Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel

--> Objectives. Lung lesions are increasingly diagnosed since the advent of routine prenatal ultrasound. These lesions seem to involute in 15% to 30% of cases. Postnatal evaluation is frequently limited, particularly when repeated ultrasound or initial chest radiographs are normal. As careful follow-up or resection may be required, accurate diagnosis is essential. The objective of this study was to determine whether prenatal lung lesions that seem to resolve are still present when evaluated more closely.

Methods. We followed 24 cases of prenatally diagnosed lung lesions at our center, using repeated chest radiographs and chest computerized tomography (CT).

Results. Some lesions caused mild mediastinal shift, but none showed hydrops fetalis. In 7 cases, the last prenatal ultrasound was negative. In 15 cases, initial postnatal chest radiograph was normal and in only 4 of these, the lesion was seen on later chest radiographs. This apparently high rate of resolution was, however, misleading. In 22 of the 23 cases in which CT was performed, lung cysts or lobar overinflation was clearly demonstrated.

Conclusions. Apparent involution of lung lesions on serial prenatal ultrasounds or neonatal chest radiograph can be misleading. We strongly recommend repeated radiographs and chest CT for definitive diagnosis in all cases.

Key Words: congenital lung cyst • involution • bronchogenic cyst • cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung • congenital lobar overinflation • prenatal diagnosis • echogenic fetal lung • computerized tomography

Abbreviations: CT, computerized tomography

Received for publication Feb 5, 2001; Accepted Jul 16, 2001.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Ultrasound MedHome page
T. Ankermann, H. C. Oppermann, S. Engler, I. Leuschner, and C. S. von Kaisenberg
Congenital Masses of the Lung, Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation Versus Congenital Lobar Emphysema: Prenatal Diagnosis and Implications for Postnatal Treatment
J. Ultrasound Med., October 1, 2004; 23(10): 1379 - 1384.
[Full Text] [PDF]