Pneumonia for 4 months, endoscopy discovered a rare malignant tumor in the lung

A 10-year-old boy (living in An Giang ) was admitted to the Respiratory Department 1, Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) with pneumonia that was not responding to treatment and lasted for more than 4 months.

Medical history showed that from March to July 2024, the boy developed symptoms of fever and cough with phlegm. He was hospitalized twice for treatment of prolonged right lung collapse in other hospitals.

During the hospitalization, the patient had a chest CT scan showing uneven thickening of the bronchial wall - bronchiectasis mainly in the middle and lower lobes of the right lung - obstruction of the right intermediate bronchus. After that, the patient had a bronchoscopy and saw a pseudomembranous mass in the bronchus but no biopsy was performed. Based on the results of the chest CT scan and bronchoscopy, the doctors suspected that the patient had bronchopulmonary tuberculosis, discharged the patient and scheduled a follow-up visit at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Here, the patient had all tuberculosis screening tests done and all were negative, and continued to be treated for pneumonia. However, the boy did not respond well to treatment so he was transferred to Children's Hospital 2.

X-ray image showing pneumonia and endoscopic image of bronchial tumor after biopsy

On October 24, Dr. Bui Ngoc Quynh Nhu (Department of Respiratory Medicine 1, Children's Hospital 2) said that as soon as the patient was admitted, the doctors realized that this was a prolonged pneumonia condition with a background of lung structure abnormalities. The doctor quickly scheduled a bronchoscopy for the patient, and noted that in the right bronchus there was a tumor that completely blocked the lumen of the intermediate bronchus, with a rough surface. After that, the doctor performed a biopsy of the tumor for pathological examination. The result was that the tumor was a mucoepidermoid carcinoma - a malignant tumor of the lung.

The baby was then treated according to the appropriate regimen. Currently, the baby's health is stable and responding well to chemotherapy.

"In this case, the bronchoscopy method helped to approach the tumor from inside the bronchus, perform a biopsy to diagnose the nature of the tumor, and limit surgery for the patient," Dr. Nhu shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viem-phoi-4-thang-noi-soi-phat-hien-u-ac-tinh-o-phoi-hiem-gap-185241024102110115.htm