A baby girl born at 39 weeks gestation via urgent c-section with acute respiratory distress, desaturation, and thin meconium at delivery which required suctioning.

Radiographic imaging showed a halo of lucency around the cardiac silhouette, a characteristic sign for anteromedial pneumothorax on supine imaging. Pulmonary vascular congestion and small pleural effusions suggest transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN), and basilar airspace disease suggests meconium aspiration. Given the clinical history and presentation meconium aspiration is the etiology for the pneumothoraces in this baby.

This baby did well with supportive measures and did not require chest tubes for treatment as is the expected course of most cases of pneumothorax, 

This case was submitted with supervision and input from:

Soni C. Chawla, M.D.                                                                                                
Associate Professor                                       
Department of Radiological Sciences                      
David Geffen School of medicine at UCLA               
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center