title: An uncommon cause of uncontrolled asthma: case report.
abstract: Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions seen by any health care professional. Multiple stimuli may lead to acute airway hyperresponsiveness and an exacerbation of the disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease being one of them. We report the case of an elderly patient with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease who secondarily developed a tracheoesophageal fistula, resulting in recurrent exacerbations of previously well-controlled asthma. After endoscopic correction of the fistula, the patient's respiratory disease improved dramatically, with essentially no exacerbations requiring urgent care or hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Fellowship Training Program, San Juan City Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galera
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casal
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Cintrón
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014138:Tracheoesophageal Fistula / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery