Her oxygen saturations were 100% breathing room air and did not change with posture or exertion. The chest radiograph showed a subtle reduction of vascular markings PD-1 assay in the left mid and upper zone. A CT pulmonary angiogram showed a solitary left apical bulla measuring 10 × 8 × 8 cm and mild peripheral

middle and right upper lobe bronchiectasis (Fig. 1). Other investigations including a head MRI were normal. Pulmonary function tests showed normal spirometry, lung volumes by Helium dilution and transfer factor. A 3-port left VATS was performed via lateral thoracotomy and a giant bulla identified arising from the left upper lobe. Apical adhesions were divided and the bulla was stapled off the left upper lobe. Histology showed the bulla measured 6.5 × 6.0 × 2.0 cm; 4.5 cm diameter. Its walls showed fibrosis and a mild chronic inflammatory infiltrate composed of plasma cells and lymphocytes. 15 weeks after her surgery she undertook an uneventful flight to Florida. At higher altitudes, there is a fall in atmospheric pressure, and a corresponding fall in the partial pressure of oxygen. To avoid unwanted physiological complications such as severe hypoxaemia, altitude sickness, and barotrauma, commercial aircraft, which travel at a cruising altitude of around 35,000 feet,

are pressurised to around 8000 feet above sea level.1 Pressurising to sea level would create issues with regards to plane weight and fuel consumption. The relationship between

the reduction in pressure on a plane and the volume of gas can be described by Boyle’s law, selleck chemicals llc Masitinib (AB1010) which describes an inverse relationship between volume and pressure. At normal sea level, atmospheric pressure is around 101 kPa or 760 mmHg. A cabin pressurised of 8000 feet will have a pressure of around 35–40% less than atmospheric pressure, which means there will be a resultant increase in gas volume of 35–40%.2 This is a potential issue for any gas that is in a confined space; hence the common experience of discomfort due to expanding air in the middle ear during flight. Similarly, any large bulla which is not in communication with the rest of the lung will undergo volume expansion.3 Symptoms during flight are not uncommon, the most serious of which are cardiac.4 The predominant inflight symptoms are neurological, primarily dizziness or vertigo; others include seizures and headaches.5 The clinical features described in this case (pleuritic pain, neurological symptoms and headache) are manifest in panic disorder.6 Whilst this must be considered as one of the differential diagnoses at presentation, other explanations must be sought. We propose that her symptoms were due to the lung bulla which will have expanded in volume by around 35–40% of its original volume, though this could have been greater or smaller depending upon other factors such as the moisture content of the gas. Bulla can be classified according to the surrounding lung tissue (e.g.