What I want to talk about today is a real case that happened recently in Shenzhen.
To tell the truth, after reading it, I have to sigh, the body’s “SOS signal” can really save lives! Although the little boy’s illness is a bit serious, his luck is really good.
The incident happened in Shenzhen People’s Hospital and was recorded by the doctor’s observation documentary “My White Coat”.
It was 2:30 p.m., May 3, when an ambulance brought a 7-year-old boy.
His name is Xiaowen (pseudonym), and he was going to the playground with his parents that day, but he accidentally fell from a half-meter high place while swinging and fell into the sand below. in the ground.
Dad said that the moment he fell, his son’s head “pushed” and then complained of pain in his left chest.
“He nearly fainted, I was afraid he would fall to the cervical spine…” Mom’s voice was full of worry.
But this speculation was quickly overturned by Jiang Xiren, the attending physician of the emergency department.
Because of cervical spine injuries, neck pain is usually the cause. If the nerves in the neck are compressed, the mobility of hands and feet will be weakened or even paralyzed, but Xiaowen’s hands and feet can move freely.
It was the “chest pain” the child kept saying that caught his attention.
Considering that CT radiation is too high for children, he recommends doing a chest X-ray first.
“I guess it should be fine.”
However, things are not easy, and even experienced doctors almost underestimate the enemy!
At 3:35 pm, Dr. Jiang got the report and suddenly widened his eyes:
“There’s something wrong with this!”
Chest X-ray showed that Xiaowen had exudative lesions in his chest, which means that some fluid had seeped into the alveoli or surrounding tissue.
Since Xiaowen was injured by a fall, Dr. Jiang tends to think that it was a traumatic wet lung caused by a chest injury.
To find the real culprit, a chest CT must be done!
An hour later, the CT results came out, which was even more terrible than the doctor expected-
Xiaowen, who is only 7 years old, has a serious giant bulla!
8*7*5 cm, equivalent to the size of a 280ml glass, almost occupying the entire lung!
“I just fell, how could I fall to my lungs?” Xiaowen’s mother couldn’t believe it.
Dr. Jiang shook his head: “It has nothing to do with this. It is not a problem of trauma. It is more likely to be born.”
The term “bullous” is believed to be the first time many people have heard of it. What kind of disease is it?
Simply put, the “small bubbles” (alveoli) in the lungs fuse into “big bubbles” (the bullae).
For those who don’t understand, you can recall the soap bubbles you played with when you were a child:
When the air sucked into the lungs cannot be expelled, the alveoli become enlarged like soap bubbles.
A bunch of “small bubbles” will merge with each other and become “big bubbles” with a diameter of more than 1 cm.
(Source: UC Berkeley/LBNL)
Generally speaking, most people with this disease are adults, such as young people and old people with chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, emphysema and other small bronchitis lesions.
However, some children will also be recruited, often due to congenital problems such as bronchial dysplasia and cartilage dysplasia, which cause part of the bronchial passage to be “blocked”.
Xiaowen is a typical example:
He has asthma and has been on medication. This shows that his bronchial ventilation is not good for a long time, which may be one of the reasons for the bullae.
But what makes Xiaowen’s mother strange is: why has he never complained of chest pain before?
Actually, bullae, like many diseases, are secretly doing big things in the human body.
When the “big bubbles” are relatively small or few in number, there are no obvious symptoms at all. This condition generally does not require treatment, but it should be monitored closely.
Because these “dangerous elements” are restless, they keep expanding and have a 50% chance of breaking.
Wait until it compresses the surrounding lung tissue before the patient experiences chest tightness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. But Xiaowen has asthma, even if he has symptoms, he is covered!
Afterwards, the “big bubble” will burst, secondary to spontaneous pneumothorax, infection, etc. chest pain, hemoptysis, and even life in severe cases Danger! At this point, surgical removal is necessary.
Without further delay, Dr. Jiang immediately called a thoracic surgeon for consultation.
Speaking of this, Xiaowen’s mother cried in fear and kept wiping away her tears. Dr. Jiang went to the corridor to comfort her, and Cai Wanna, a training doctor in the emergency department, also comforted Xiaowen.
Finally, after consultation, Xiaowen was diagnosed with congenital pulmonary bullae, and she was recommended to be transferred to Shenzhen Children’s Hospital for surgery.
Afterwards, Dr. Jiang sighed: “That child is lucky to have early detection and early treatment.”
Yeah. From the point of view of Sai Weng losing his horse, Xiaowen’s parents should really be grateful for this wrestling.
If it hadn’t been for a crooked fight and came to the hospital and found this “irregular time bomb”, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
Here is also a special reminder to parents of children with asthma, if the child has chest pain symptoms, be sure to go to the hospital in time to check for complications such as pulmonary bullae and pneumothorax.
Although there are more and more parents like Xiaowen’s parents who are finely nurturing children, there are also some parents, especially those of the older generation who are raising children across generations. He was always disdainful, and even reprimanded, “Where does the low back pain come from in a child’s home, I see your buttocks hurting.”
This incident also reminds us not to ignore the distress signal sent by our body!
If there is a sudden, persistent pain in a certain area, don’t just treat it as a minor problem. Going to the hospital immediately is not a waste of time, but is responsible for the health of yourself and your family.
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
*The copyright of this article belongs to Tencent Medical Dictionary. Unauthorized reprinting by media is prohibited. Illegal reprinting will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law. Individuals are welcome to forward to the circle of friends.