Affiliation
Department of Medicine, St. John's Hospital, Limerick City, Limerick, Ireland. doctorrlobo@gmail.comIssue Date
2012-10Keywords
RESPIRATORY DISORDERMeSH
Diagnosis, DifferentialFatal Outcome
Humans
Male
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Osteochondrodysplasias
Pseudomonas Infections
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Recurrence
Respiratory Tract Infections
Staphylococcal Infections
Tracheal Diseases
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
An unusual cause for recurrent chest infections. 2012, 2012: BMJ Case RepPublisher
BMJ case reportsJournal
BMJ case reportsDOI
10.1136/bcr-2012-006910PubMed ID
23060375Abstract
We present a case of an elderly non-smoking gentleman who, since 2005, had been admitted multiple times for recurrent episodes of shortness of breath, wheeze, cough and sputum. The patient was treated as exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and/or lower respiratory tract infections. Bronchoscopy was done which revealed multiple hard nodules in the trachea and bronchi with posterior tracheal wall sparing. Biopsies confirmed this as tracheopathia osteochondroplastica (TO). He had increasing frequency of admission due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas infections, which failed to clear despite intravenous, prolonged oral and nebulised antibiotics. The patient developed increasing respiratory distress and respiratory failure. The patient died peacefully in 2012. This case report highlights the typical pathological and radiological findings of TO and the pitfalls of misdiagnosing patients with recurrent chest infections as COPD.Item Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1757-790Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1136/bcr-2012-006910