Bronchial atresia with relapsing pulmonary infection in a middle-aged man
Nordstrom, C.R.; Kane, G.C.; Wechsler, R.J.; Salazar, A.M.; Cohn, H.E.; Farber, J.L.
Respiratory Care 46(6): 601-603
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-1324 PMID: 11353549 Document Number: 531463
Congenital bronchial atresia (CBA) is a rare disorder, first reported in 1953. Less than 100 cases are reported in the literature, mostly in young, asymptomatic male patients with involvement of the apical-posterior segment of the left upper lobe. Patients may complain of fever, cough, or shortness of breath, symptoms that result from post-obstructive, sometimes recurrent, infections. Chest radiography and computed tomography reveal a tubular branching density representing mucus impaction or mucocele with surrounding focal hyperinflation. Surgical excision is reserved for symptomatic cases. We report an unusual case of CBA in a middle-aged man with a history of relapsing infections, who was found to have an atretic superior segment of the left lower lobe, with surrounding areas of organizing pneumonia.