CASE REPORT   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 November;180(11):768-70

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.19.04285-2

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica: distinct clinical presentations, the same bronchoscopic diagnosis

Tiago M. OLIVEIRA ^{1, 2} ✉, Fernando T. GUEDES ^{1, 2}

¹ Department of Pulmonology, Santo António Hospital, University Hospital of Porto, Porto, Portugal; ² Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a benign disease of the central airways consisting of cartilaginous nodules of the anterior and lateral tracheal walls, projecting into the tracheal lumen. Respiratory infections and difficult intubation are characteristic clinical features. However, it is mostly diagnosed as a bronchoscopic incidental finding. We present three cases of patients with different clinical backgrounds leading to the same bronchoscopic diagnosis. This clinical entity is probably underdiagnosed and should be considered in such clinical settings.

KEY WORDS: Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica; Bronchoscopy; Diagnosis