CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Critical Care
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1604298
Endobronchial Blocker and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Use for Lung Abscess Complicated by A Bronchopleural Fistula in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review
Provisionally accepted
- Children‘s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Background: A lung abscess is a thick-walled cavity containing purulent material that results from pulmonary infection. It is an uncommon condition that can occur at any age. Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a severe complication with a poor prognosis that may arise with the progression of the condition or as a result of treatment.Case presentation: We describe a case of lung abscess complicated by a BPF and septic shock in a 7year-old girl. A chest tube was inserted and venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was emergently used. To selectively block the BPF, an endobronchial blocker was placed in the right intermediate bronchus under bronchoscopic guidance. This approach allowed the BPF to heal, enabled the recruitment of the other lung, and obstructed the purulent fluid. The patient recovered and was discharged after 70 days of treatment.Conclusions: This case demonstrates that combined endobronchial blocker and ECMO can be an effective approach for patients with lung abscesses and BPFs (especially those aged < 8 years) when the adjustment of conventional therapy is unsuccessful.
Keywords: Lung Abscess, Bronchopleural fistula, endobronchial blocker, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, case report
Received: 01 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Lu, Sun, Wang, Chen, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chengjun Liu, Children‘s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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