Diffuse Alveolar Haemorrhage Masquerading as Worsening ARDS in a Young Polytrauma Patient: Diagnostic Reasoning and a Conservative Management Bundle - A Case Report

Background

Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH) is a rare, under-recognised complication of blunt polytrauma. In patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), new airway bleeding may be mistaken for pulmonary contusion, ventilator-associated pneumonia or transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), delaying appropriate treatment. The timing of definitive fracture fixation also remains uncertain.