Bullous emphysema is a condition with the appearance of pathological bullae in the lungs caused by chronic obstruction of the airways. Bullae itself is thin-walled, air-filled pathological spaces, located in the lung parenchyma. It can be caused by congenital or genetic disease without previous lung disease or complications from COPD. Under special conditions, bullae can appear at a young age with several risk factors and underlying causes, such as COPD at a young age, genetic disorders, and cystic fibrosis. Several diseases that lead to COPD at a young age are Asthma in children, Recurrent Wheezing Infants (RWI), Broncho Pulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (NCFB), Plastic Bronchitis (PB), cystic fibrosis, and Bronchiolitis Obliterans (BO). A 25 year-old-woman with bullous emphysema causing a spontaneous pneumothorax, with suspected cyst rupture was reported. Among all lung diseases that can cause bullous emphysema at a young age, cystic fibrosis is the closest to our case. It needs further examination such as chromosome test and chloride sweat test analysis, and the possibility of Alfa-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, cannot be ruled out.
Key words: Bullous emphysema, Young adult, Cystic fibrosis, Alfa-1 antitrypsin
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