Bronchial tree‐shaped mucous plug in cystic fibrosis: imaging‐guided management

We report the case of a 17‐year‐old boy with cystic fibrosis (CF) who presented with persistent cough; after starting intravenous antibiotics for Pseudomonas aeruginosa he underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest. CT revealed extensive consolidation in the right lower lobe with relativ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Respirology case reports 2017-03, Vol.5 (2), p.e00214-n/a
Main Authors: Salamone, Ignazio, Mondello, Baldassare, Lucanto, Maria Cristina, Cristadoro, Simona, Lombardo, Mariangela, Barone, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Atelectasis
Bronchitis
Case Report
Case Reports
Cystic fibrosis
DNAse
Histology
imaging
Medical imaging
Patients
plug
Viscosity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report the case of a 17‐year‐old boy with cystic fibrosis (CF) who presented with persistent cough; after starting intravenous antibiotics for Pseudomonas aeruginosa he underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest. CT revealed extensive consolidation in the right lower lobe with relative bronchus obstruction; the cause of bronchial obstruction was detected in the mediastinal window, corresponding to a bronchial tree‐shaped, thick, tenacious mucous plug. This was extracted 48 h after unresponsive bronchial washing and endobronchial instillation of rhDNAse, using foreign‐body forceps, with subsequent resolution of cough. This case, which is the second report of plastic bronchitis in CF, was resolved by mechanical removal of the mucous plug, suggesting that a careful observation of CT imaging may guide intervention aimed at resolution of atelectasis. This is the second report of plastic bronchitis in cystic fibrosis that resolved with mechanical removal of the mucous plug. A careful observation of computed tomography (CT) imaging may guide intervention aimed at resolution of atelectasis.
ISSN:2051-3380
2051-3380
DOI:10.1002/rcr2.214