What is congenital lobar emphysema?
Definition Congenital lobar emphysema is a chronic disease that causes respiratory distress in infants. Description Congenital lobar emphysema, also called infantile lobar emphysema, is a respiratory disease that occurs in infants when air enters the lungs but cannot leave easily. The lungs become over-inflated, causing respiratory function to decrease and air to leak out into the space around the lungs. Half of the cases of congenital lobar emphysema occur in the first four weeks of life, and three-quarters occur in infants less than six months old. Congenital lobar emphysema is more common in boys than in girls. Each person has two lungs, right and left. The right lung is divided into three sections, called lobes, and the left lung into two lobes. Congenital lobar emphysema usually affects only one lobe, and this is usually an upper lobe. It occurs most frequently in the left upper lobe, followed by the right middle lobe. Causes and symptoms The cause of congenital lobar emphysema of
