title: [Post-infectious autobullectomy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bullous emphysema is defined as an airspace of more than 10mm in diameter. The spontaneous regression or disappearance of a bulla is unusual, described as an "autobullectomy".
  
  
  METHODS
  We report the case of a 37-year-old man with a 10-pack/year history of smoking, a history of pneumothorax surgically treated in 2005, and emphysema with a bulla in the right upper lobe. In September 2010, the patient was hospitalized for a community-acquired pneumonia associated with an air-fluid level in the bulla. Clinical symptoms improved with a course of antibiotics (levofloxacin, ceftriaxone) for 3 weeks. Chest X-rays showed a progressive decrease in the size of the bulla. In June 2011, a chest CT scan showed complete regression of the bulla in the right upper lobe.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report the complete regression of a bulla after infection, leading to an "autobullectomy". It can be hypothesized that the mechanisms might involve fibrosis of the walls and/or the obstruction of the bronchus supplying the bulla.
authors.affiliation: Service des maladies respiratoires, CHU de Reims, 45, rue Cognacq-Jay, 51092 Reims cedex, France. Electronic address: juliette_vellaboucaud@hotmail.fr.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vella-Boucaud
authors.affiliation: Service de pneumologie, centre hospitalier de Charleville-Mézières, 45, avenue de Manchester, BP 10900, 08011 Charleville Mézières cedex, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chouabe
authors.affiliation: Service de pneumologie, centre hospitalier de Charleville-Mézières, 45, avenue de Manchester, BP 10900, 08011 Charleville Mézières cedex, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bourin
authors.affiliation: Service des maladies respiratoires, CHU de Reims, 45, rue Cognacq-Jay, 51092 Reims cedex, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.affiliation: Service des maladies respiratoires, CHU de Reims, 45, rue Cognacq-Jay, 51092 Reims cedex, France.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Perotin
authors.affiliation: Service des maladies respiratoires, CHU de Reims, 45, rue Cognacq-Jay, 51092 Reims cedex, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lebargy
authors.affiliation: Service des maladies respiratoires, CHU de Reims, 45, rue Cognacq-Jay, 51092 Reims cedex, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deslee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Bulle; Emphysema; Emphysème; Infection; Pulmonary bulla; Régression spontanée; Spontaneous regression