Congenital diaphragmatic hernia misdiagnosed as tension pneumothorax

Drainage of the pleural space is undertaken as an emergency when there is respiratory distress and the radiological appearance of mediastinal shift. We present two cases in which the initial diagnosis was tension pneumothorax and chest drains were inserted. In both cases, the diagnosis turned out to be congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 1997;24:119–121. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.