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The purpose of this study is to evaluate changes in the trachea and bronchi using 3-dimensional reconstruction images obtained from the initial and follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans of COVID-19 patients. A hundred COVID-19 patients over the age of 18 were included in our study. CT images were transferred to Mimics software, and a 3-dimensional reconstruction of the trachea and bronchi was performed. The initial and follow-up CT images of COVID-19 patients were graded as none (grade 0), mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), and severe (grade 3) according to the total lung severity score. The patients were divided into progression and regression groups according to the grade increase/decrease between the initial and follow-up CTs. Moreover, the patients were divided into groups as 0-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 4-12 weeks, and over 12 weeks according to the duration between the initial and follow-up CTs. The mean cross-sectional area, circumference, and diameter measurements of the right upper lobar bronchus, intermediate bronchus, middle lobar bronchus, and left lower lobar bronchus decreased in the follow-up CTs of the progression group. This decrease was not found to be statistically significant. In the follow-up CTs of the regression group, the left upper lobar bronchus and left lower lobar bronchus measurements increased but not statistically significant. Upon comparing the onset of the disease and the follow-up period, statistically significant changes did not occur in the trachea, main bronchus, and lobar bronchus of COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2023, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved.
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Background: Isolated tracheobronchial mucormycosis (ITBM) is an uncommonly reported entity. Herein, we report a case of ITBM following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and perform a systematic review of the literature. Case description and systematic review: A 45-year-old gentleman with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus presented with cough, streaky haemoptysis, and hoarseness of voice 2 weeks after mild COVID-19 illness. Computed tomography and flexible bronchoscopy suggested the presence of a tracheal mass, which was spontaneously expectorated. Histopathological examination of the mass confirmed invasive ITBM. The patient had complete clinical and radiological resolution with glycaemic control, posaconazole, and inhaled amphotericin B (8 weeks). Our systematic review of the literature identified 25 additional cases of isolated airway invasive mucormycosis. The median age of the 26 subjects (58.3% men) was 46 years. Diabetes mellitus (79.2%) was the most common risk factor. Uncommon conditions such as anastomosis site mucormycosis (in two lung transplant recipients), post-viral illness (post-COVID-19 [n = 3], and influenza [n = 1]), and post-intubation mucormycosis (n = 1) were noted in a few. Three patients died before treatment initiation. Systemic antifungals were used in most patients (commonly amphotericin B). Inhalation (5/26;19.2%) or bronchoscopic instillation (1/26;3.8%) of amphotericin B and surgery (6/26;23.1%) were performed in some patients. The case-fatality rate was 50%, primarily attributed to massive haemoptysis. Conclusion: Isolated tracheobronchial mucormycosis is a rare disease. Bronchoscopy helps in early diagnosis. Management with antifungals and control of risk factors is required since surgery may not be feasible. © 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
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SESSION TITLE: Bad bugs and Mediastinal Madness SESSION TYPE: Case Reports PRESENTED ON: 10/19/2022 09:15 am - 10:15 am INTRODUCTION: Non-traumatic bronchial injury (NTBI) incidence is not well described but traumatic Tracheobronchial injury (TBI) incidence is 3% with a 70 -100% mortality3. Causes identified for NTBI are associated with vascular supply compromise2. TBI presents with dyspnea, subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, and/or pneumomediastinum4. It can be missed up to 68% of the cases. Bronchoscopy is the study of choice and management is based on studies from traumatic TBI2, 3. This report describes a unique case of NTBI in a patient with recent COVID-19 infection, uncontrolled diabetes, and invasive pseudomembranous Aspergillosis presenting with a left bronchial tear (LBT). CASE PRESENTATION: A 41-year-old with uncontrolled diabetes and prior admission for COVID-19 infection and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) managed with steroids and antibiotics. Presenting cough, fever, intermittent chest pain, and palpitations. He was afebrile, tachycardic, and hypoxemic requiring supplemental oxygen. Chest examination revealed crackles and decreased breath sounds at the lung bases. Laboratory studies showed leukocytosis, hyperglycemia, and anion gap metabolic acidosis. SARS-CoV-2 PCR was negative. CT chest revealed an anterior wall defect of the left bronchus with a pneumomediastinum. Bronchoscopy showed pseudomembranous necrotic debris of the tracheobronchial tree and left main bronchus tear with visible rhythm-beating pericardium surrounding the heart. Cytopathological findings of the bronchoalveolar fluid were consistent with Aspergillus species (AS). DISCUSSION: NTBI are rare with a high mortality3. NTBI due to AS has been described in post-lung transplant patients. AS produces endotoxins and proteases that damage the epithelium, leading to erosion of surrounding structures2,3. Since COVID-19, invasive fungal infections (IFI) have risen due to lung damage and immunologic deficits associated with the virus or immunomodulatory therapy6. Our patient risk factors for IFI included recent COVID-19 infection, steroid use, and uncontrolled diabetes. This unholy trinity has coexisted during COVID-19 self-potentiating the problem of immune dysregulation leading to IFI and tissue necrosis7. This may cause NTBI as in our case presenting with LBT. Despite antimicrobial therapy, he died due to massive hemoptysis from erosion of the pericardium or angio-invasion of surrounding vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Rarity of NTBI constitutes a challenge for early diagnosis and management. Identifying predisposing risk factors, a high clinical suspicion, and appropriate diagnostic workup is of vital importance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, IFI have an increased incidence associated with high mortality rates. Despite more cases being described there are still knowledge gaps related to prevention, diagnosis, and management. Reference #1: Jones D, Nelson A, Ma OJ. Pulmonary Trauma. In: Tintinalli JE, Stapczynski JS, Ma OJ, Yealy DM, Meckler GD, Cline DM, eds. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 8e. McGraw-Hill Education;2016. accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1121516674 Reference #2: Aerni MR, Parambil JG, Allen MS, Utz JP. Nontraumatic Disruption of the Fibrocartilaginous Trachea: Causes and Clinical Outcomes. Chest. 2006;130(4):1143-1149. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-3692(15)51151-3 Reference #3: AK AK, Anjum F. Tracheobronchial Tear. StatPearls Publishing;2022. Accessed March 13, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560900/ DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Jorge Alejandro Bernal No relevant relationships by Adriana Betancourth No relevant relationships by Reham Majzoub No relevant relationships by Juan Pablo Sarmiento Cano
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CASE: A 68-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension and null smoking history presented with insidious onset dyspnea for the past three days. On physical exam, he had inspiratory rhonchi and was hypoxic, saturating to 88% in room air, requiring 6L oxygen. Laboratory studies were unremarkable, including a negative COVID PCR test. Chest X-ray demonstrated right-sided hilar prominence, and CT of the chest revealed an 8 mm endobronchial. On the day of his bronchoscopy evaluation, the patient expectorated a brownish undercooked pea while receiving nebulizer treatment and repeat chest CT revealed the resolution of the previous endobronchial lesion. IMPACT/DISCUSSION: Foreign body aspiration (FBA) has a bimodal presentation with a second peak in adults above 50 years. Although FBA most commonly presents with abrupt onset cough and dyspnea, the immediate presentation may not be evident in the geriatric population given the lack of cough reflex and cognitive decline. A retrospective study performed with data from 140 patients with FBA noted that 44.3% of patients did not present to the emergency in the first 24 hours of aspiration. Physical exam findings depend on the location of foreign body(FB) dislodgement, but around half the time, the exam could be unremarkable. A radiograph could reveal the object if the aspirated FB is radiopaque;hence a negative radiograph does not rule out the diagnosis of FBA. However, when present, the most common radiographic findings are inspiratory-expiratory abnormalities. High clinical suspicion is required to diagnose FBA to prevent chronic respiratory manifestations. An undiagnosed FB could travel distally and present as pneumonia, bronchiectasis, atelectasis, asthma/COPD-like illness. However, our patient presented with an endobronchial mass that was suspicious for malignancy. We found a similar presentation described by Bader et al. in a case about a 41-year-old woman who underwent chest CT for chronic cough, revealing a mass lesion in the right main bronchus. Bronchoscopic examination showed no growth;instead, the team found a plastic foreign body. The patient admitted aspirating this plastic object in her early 20s. If FBA is suspected, bronchoscopy is the study of choice to evaluate the airway, and extraction of FB can be performed with flexible or rigid bronchoscopy. Although flexible bronchoscopy requires only local anesthesia and a rigid bronchoscopy requires general anesthesia, the latter is safer in preventing damage to the airway. Given that each case of FBA can present unique challenges and might occasionally need endotracheal intubation or tracheostomy, only experts should perform bronchoscopic extraction of FB. CONCLUSION: In this COVID era, it is very reasonable to be anchored to a diagnosis of COVID for every patient who presents with dyspnea. FBA should be one of the differential diagnoses for geriatric patients presenting with newonset respiratory symptoms even when no physical or radiographic signs are evident.
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Introduction: Mucormycosis is a catastrophic, opportunistic infection with a high mortality rate. Incidence of Pulmonary mucormycosis has gone up in the post covid-19 era. Treatment includes combined surgical and medical therapy. Mucormycosis involving major airway is difficult to treat because, the surgical options are limited. We present a case series of tracheobronchial mucormycosis, managed by combined bronchoscopic interventions and medical therapy. Case Series: Case 1: 30 years old diabetic female presented with stridor. Bronchoscopy showed mass lesion arising from carina extending to lower trachea causing obstruction. Biopsy revealed Mucormycosis. The lesion was completely debulked by using rigid bronchoscopy, cryoprobe, electrosurgical knife. Intravenous amphotericin was for 6 weeks. Follow-up bronchoscopy showed no recurrence. Case 2: 45 years old diabetic male who had Covid-19 recently, presented with cough. Bronchoscopy revealed near-total occlusion left main bronchus by fleshy lesion destroying medial wall and communicating with the mediastinum. Lesion was removed by bronchoscopic methods and intra-lesional amphotericin was injected in multiple sittings along with intravenous amphotericin therapy followed by oral posaconazole. Follow-up bronchoscopy showed complete healing of left main bronchus. Case 3: 25-year-old diabetic male, presented with stridor. Bronchoscopy revealed complete destruction of the upper trachea by necrotic infection extending to paratracheal tissue on right side. Silicon tracheal stent was placed to stabilize trachea and patient was continued on intra-lesional and intravenous amphotericin therapy. Interim bronchoscopy in after 2 weeks showed partial healing of the lesion however patient missed for follow up after 3 weeks of amphotericin therapy. Conclusion: Surgical options for tracheobronchial mucormycosis are limited. Bronchoscopic methods may be tried to treat the disease locally along with intravenous amphotericin therapy when Surgical options are exhausted.
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Background: Mucormycosis is an invasive-fungal infection, often associated with extremely severe complications in immuno-compromised patients. The prevalence of mucormycosis in India is about 80 times higher than other developed countries. But the clinical presentation of pulmonary mucormycosis has wide diversity. Case Study: We are reporting a case of a 45-year-old man admitted to our side as a case of post-COVID sequelae in the setting of a new left sided loculated pyo-pneumothorax. He is a known case of type 2 diabetes and hypothyroidism for 1.5 years and 3 years respectively. Prior to our rescue, he underwent pigtail insertion in the loculated collection, but there was no output. So, the drain was removed and the patient was planned for pneumonectomy. On visiting to our side, appropriate investigation and interventions were done. On bronchoscopy a large fungating fragile blackish growth was seen coming out from left main bronchus. Histopathological report of the endobronchial biopsy revealed mucormycosis. The patient was planned for Liposomal Amphotericin-B (LAMB) but unfortunately developed anaphylaxis. He was managed accordingly and was taken on oral Posaconazole therapy. On follow up visit remarkable clinical and radiological improvement was noted. Discussion: The above-mentioned case showed the management of a not so mimicking case of usual pulmonary mucormycosis without opting for surgical intervention. Thus, limiting the patient from the postsurgical complications. Conclusion: This case illustrates the heterogeneousness of mucormycosis, regardless of patient profile. Bronchoscopic findings and mycology report helped us to rule out other differential diagnosis.
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With the increase in use of smaller magnets in gadgets and toys at home, magnets pose a growing aspiration risk in children. We present two simultaneous cases of magnet-related foreign body aspiration (FBA) in two children, in two different cities: Karachi, and Lahore. They presented with similar signs and symptoms: tachypnea, tachycardia and asymmetric breath sounds on auscultation. They were initially diagnosed with the help of a chest X ray. Both the cases were complicated by failed bronchoscopy attempts due to the slippery texture of the magnet. Due to the failed bronchoscopy, both patients had a prolonged and complicated course including a 24–48 hour stay in the PICU prior to magnet removal. They eventually had to undergo thoracotomy for successful removal of the magnet. Both had an unremarkable post-operative course and were discharged in good health.