Pulmonary cystic lesions post motor vehicle accident: a rare occurrence

A 24-year-old man was brought to our institution after a high-speed motor vehicle collision, where he was an unrestrained passenger. The patient initially was in respiratory distress requiring intubation. A chest X-ray (Figure 1A) revealed a left tension pneumothorax and increased alveolar densities bilaterally suggestive of pulmonary contusion. After emergent tube thoracostomy, repeat chest X-ray showed resolution of the pneumothorax with evidence of cystic lesions in the left lung (Figure 1B). A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest revealed multiple …