Recurrent severe lower respiratory tract infections in a child with abnormal tracheal morphology.
Localized recurrent respiratory infections, leading to severe hypoxia in young children without immunological abnormalities or other risk factors, should raise the suspicion of airway structural abnormalities. In a 24-month-old boy, with recurrent severe post-viral wheezing and a history of RSV-induced bronchiolitis and gastro-esophageal reflux, fiberoptic bronchoscopy demonstrated an abnormal morphology of the distal portion of the trachea, ending in four openings. Computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated the presence of a right tracheal bronchus and an anomalous upper lobar bronchus, originating at the level of the major carina.
Panigada
Serena
S
Pulmonary Disease Unit, Giannina Gaslini Research Institute, University of Genova, Genoa, Italy.
Sacco
Oliviero
O
Girosi
Donata
D
Tomà
Paolo
P
Rossi
Giovanni A
GA
D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D012008:Recurrence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014132:Trachea / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*