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Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report

Received: 17 May 2023    Accepted: 1 June 2023    Published: 10 June 2023
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Abstract

Background: Lung abscesses are rare in childhood and very rare in early infancy and neonates. With a predicted incidence of 7 per 1000,000 admissions per year. Furthermore, Neonatal lung abscesses are usually of multi-bacterial etiology. In addition, Risk factors in neonates include prematurity, ventilation, congenital lung malformation, and aspiration. Here, we are reporting a 21 day- old baby, full term, normal vaginal delivery, no history of NICU admission, no resuscitation at birth, group B streptococcus screening is negative, breast feeding, and no respiratory distress at birth, who presented with unusual picture of mild cough and flu without fever or other symptoms, and was diagnosed as a lung abscess, which is probably one of the few cases reported in the literature in neonates. Case presentation: A 3-week-old boy presented with unusual symptoms of cough, flu, without fever, or other manifestations. The Diagnosis of lung abscess was based on chest CT scan. Empirically treated with intravenous antibiotics was started. Then, patient was discharged from the hospital with an outpatient follow-up. At the time of discharge, he had reassuring vital signs and a normal physical examination. At the follow-up visit after one week, no clinical symptoms were reported and the physical examination was normal. Conclusion: unexpected case of lung abscess in neonates is very rare and distinctive condition, so our recommendations for pediatricians are to be vigilant about the silent presentation of infection in neonates.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16
Page(s) 85-91
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lung Abscess, Neonatal Infection, Sepsis

References
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[4] Feki, W.; Ketata, W.; Bahloul, N.; Ayadi, H.; Yangui, I.; Kammoun, S. Lung abscess: Diagnosis and management. Rev. Des Mal. Respir. 2019, 36, 707-719. [CrossRef] [PubMed].
[5] Madhani, K.; McGrath, E.; Guglani, L. A 10-year retrospective review of pediatric lung abscesses from a single center. Ann. Thorac. Med. 2016, 11, 191-196. [PubMed].
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[8] Thadchanamoorthy, V.; Dayasiri, K. Pulmonary tuberculosis presenting as lung abscess in a 10-month-old infant. Respir. Med. Case Rep. 2020, 31, 101229. [CrossRef] [PubMed].
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal, Shaikha Nasser Al-Thani, Dhabiya Al-kubaisi, Wadha Al-Shafi, Farah Falah Kadhim Al Khawaja, et al. (2023). Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report. American Journal of Pediatrics, 9(2), 85-91. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16

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    ACS Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal; Shaikha Nasser Al-Thani; Dhabiya Al-kubaisi; Wadha Al-Shafi; Farah Falah Kadhim Al Khawaja, et al. Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report. Am. J. Pediatr. 2023, 9(2), 85-91. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16

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    AMA Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal, Shaikha Nasser Al-Thani, Dhabiya Al-kubaisi, Wadha Al-Shafi, Farah Falah Kadhim Al Khawaja, et al. Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report. Am J Pediatr. 2023;9(2):85-91. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16,
      author = {Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal and Shaikha Nasser Al-Thani and Dhabiya Al-kubaisi and Wadha Al-Shafi and Farah Falah Kadhim Al Khawaja and Amal Alnajjad and Hafez Alsliman and Mohamed Alaido and Mohammad Qusad and Loma Abdulla Al Enzi and Mona Altemimi},
      title = {Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {85-91},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20230902.16},
      abstract = {Background: Lung abscesses are rare in childhood and very rare in early infancy and neonates. With a predicted incidence of 7 per 1000,000 admissions per year. Furthermore, Neonatal lung abscesses are usually of multi-bacterial etiology. In addition, Risk factors in neonates include prematurity, ventilation, congenital lung malformation, and aspiration. Here, we are reporting a 21 day- old baby, full term, normal vaginal delivery, no history of NICU admission, no resuscitation at birth, group B streptococcus screening is negative, breast feeding, and no respiratory distress at birth, who presented with unusual picture of mild cough and flu without fever or other symptoms, and was diagnosed as a lung abscess, which is probably one of the few cases reported in the literature in neonates. Case presentation: A 3-week-old boy presented with unusual symptoms of cough, flu, without fever, or other manifestations. The Diagnosis of lung abscess was based on chest CT scan. Empirically treated with intravenous antibiotics was started. Then, patient was discharged from the hospital with an outpatient follow-up. At the time of discharge, he had reassuring vital signs and a normal physical examination. At the follow-up visit after one week, no clinical symptoms were reported and the physical examination was normal. Conclusion: unexpected case of lung abscess in neonates is very rare and distinctive condition, so our recommendations for pediatricians are to be vigilant about the silent presentation of infection in neonates.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Silent Lung Abscess in a Newborn: A Case Report
    AU  - Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal
    AU  - Shaikha Nasser Al-Thani
    AU  - Dhabiya Al-kubaisi
    AU  - Wadha Al-Shafi
    AU  - Farah Falah Kadhim Al Khawaja
    AU  - Amal Alnajjad
    AU  - Hafez Alsliman
    AU  - Mohamed Alaido
    AU  - Mohammad Qusad
    AU  - Loma Abdulla Al Enzi
    AU  - Mona Altemimi
    Y1  - 2023/06/10
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    SP  - 85
    EP  - 91
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.16
    AB  - Background: Lung abscesses are rare in childhood and very rare in early infancy and neonates. With a predicted incidence of 7 per 1000,000 admissions per year. Furthermore, Neonatal lung abscesses are usually of multi-bacterial etiology. In addition, Risk factors in neonates include prematurity, ventilation, congenital lung malformation, and aspiration. Here, we are reporting a 21 day- old baby, full term, normal vaginal delivery, no history of NICU admission, no resuscitation at birth, group B streptococcus screening is negative, breast feeding, and no respiratory distress at birth, who presented with unusual picture of mild cough and flu without fever or other symptoms, and was diagnosed as a lung abscess, which is probably one of the few cases reported in the literature in neonates. Case presentation: A 3-week-old boy presented with unusual symptoms of cough, flu, without fever, or other manifestations. The Diagnosis of lung abscess was based on chest CT scan. Empirically treated with intravenous antibiotics was started. Then, patient was discharged from the hospital with an outpatient follow-up. At the time of discharge, he had reassuring vital signs and a normal physical examination. At the follow-up visit after one week, no clinical symptoms were reported and the physical examination was normal. Conclusion: unexpected case of lung abscess in neonates is very rare and distinctive condition, so our recommendations for pediatricians are to be vigilant about the silent presentation of infection in neonates.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Faculty of Medicine, Weill Cornell University, Doha, Qatar

  • Pediatric Department, Sidra Hospital, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Dermatology, Rumailah Hospital, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Department of Paediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

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