Transverse plane, lung window — Click the image to open the full-screen viewer.
15-year-old Male Neutered American Shorthair
4 kg
Presenting complaint and brief history
Lethargy, weight loss over several months, and over the past 2 days progressive respiratory distress with oxygen dependency.
Diagnosis
Hides the diagnosis, imaging findings, outcome, take-home points and correlation photos so you can read the images blind.
Pneumothorax secondary to suspected ruptured pleural blebs and collapsed right middle lung lobe due to bronchial mucus/purulent material plugging secondary to chronic inflammatory airway disease (feline asthma)
Highly suspected
Imaging findings
CT imaging of the thorax revealed evidence of pneumothorax. There was also a collapsed right middle lung lobe, likely due to plugging of the bronchi with mucus or purulent material. While these findings are highly suggestive of chronic inflammatory airway disease, they typically don't lead to pneumothorax unless they get so severe or another process is occurring. In this case, concave defects surrounded by soft-tissue attenuation were noted throughout the periphery of a few lung lobes, so ruptured pulmonary bullae or blebs are suspected as the underlying cause.
What happened with the patient
The thorax was not explored. The client opted for humane euthanasia.
Contributed by
- Oren Ofer
DVM, DVSc, DACVR
52 cases
Educational use only — not clinical advice.
Cite this case
Ofer O. Pneumothorax secondary to suspected ruptured pleural blebs and collapsed right middle lung lobe due to bronchial mucus/purulent material plugging secondary to chronic inflammatory airway disease (feline asthma). Radabase case 3b346c14. Retrieved 2026-11-08 from https://www.radabase.vet/case/3b346c14-9d7c-4a24-847b-d0d77fa80d9a
Discussion
Questions and observations from colleagues. Never post identifying patient or owner information.
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