An unusual cause of neonatal respiratory distress. RDS in a neonate with a neuro-enteric cyst.

A 2.5 kg male infant developed respiratory distress in the neonatal period. A diagnosis of idiopathic hyaline membrane disease was made and he was treated accordingly. At 24 hours of age he required intubation, and the immediate and dramatic improvement in his condition suggested that the original diagnosis was incorrect. Closer examination of the chest X-ray revealed an intrathoracic cyst and abnormal vertebrae. The cyst was removed surgically, and histological examination showed it to be a neuro-endodermal cyst.