Introduction
More than 1 in 10 of the world’s infants, of more than 15 million
children, was born prematurely1. As the second leading
cause of death in children younger than 5 years of age, prematurity
remains a global health problem1.
The most immature preterm infants are
more likely to need ventilation support and supplemental oxygen because
of their immature lung. Prematurity followed with amnion infection,
growth restriction, oxygen toxicity, and volutrauma and barotrama from
mechanical ventilation may interrupt normal pulmonary alveolarization
and vascularization development and thus create a clinical scenario of
lung injury with pathophysiological effects that can extend beyond
infancy into adulthood2,3. Instead of the
eosinophil-mediated inflammation and atopy typical of asthma, the
survivors of preterm birth of recurrent broncho-obstructive symptoms
result from abnormal growth and development of the architecture of the
lung 4. We report a case of lung atelectasis due to
plastic bronchitis in a 26-month-old toddler who was born at
29+6 weeks gestational age.