Case report: tracheobronchial diverticulum, a potential risk for diving?

Tracheobronchial diverticulum (TBD) is an asymptomatic, benign cystic lesion outside the lumen of the trachea and bronchus. This is the first report case of a SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) diver diagnosed with TBD, which is a potential risk to diving. No literature or guideline is available so far on the diving fitness for patients with congenital or acquired TBD condition. A healthy 26-year-old male professional diver has records of SCUBA diving up to a depth of 40 meters sea water. He did not have any diving-related injuries or symptoms during his career and had no history of smoking, drinking, or other special illnesses except for a COVID-19 infection. A tracheal diverticulum was found accidentally by computed tomography (CT), but its communication with the trachea was not clear initially. Therefore, high-resolution CT and electronic bronchoscopy were done to clarify the situation of the diverticulum and identify the diving risk. High-resolution CT showed a possible opening in the diverticulum, but this was not seen under electronic bronchoscopy. Although a potential opening was shown in high-resolution CT, the lack of visual bronchoscopic evidence made it likely to be a dead cavity. As there is a higher theoretical risk of barotrauma during decompression, leading to pneumomediastinum, hemorrhage, or arterial gas embolism, the current clinical consensus is that air-containing tissue should be regarded as a relative contraindication for diving. Overall, it is recommended that the diver should dive carefully and avoid ascending too rapidly.

High incidence of tracheobronchial diverticulum in esophageal cancer patients: a retrospective survey alerting pitfall during thoracoscopic esophagectomy.

OBJECTIVES: Although tracheobronchial diverticulum (DV) rarely cause problems, attention should be paid during esophagectomy, which requires careful dissection around the trachea and bronchi. Here, we retrospectively review cases of tracheobronchial DVs among esophageal cancer patients and report two cases of bronchial DV injury during thoracoscopic esophagectomy that were successfully repaired. METHODS: The thin-section CT images of esophageal cancer patients who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy from January 2013 to December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The localization, number, and size (largest axial diameter) of all detected DVs were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 180 patients were enrolled in this study. The incidence of tracheal DV was 5.0%, and that of bronchial DV was 40.0%. The median diameter of the tracheal diverticula was 2.45 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.00-8.17] mm and that of the bronchial diverticula was 1.90 (IQR 1.51-2.46) mm. All tracheal diverticula presented at the right tracheal wall 4.5-6.0 cm below the vocal cords; bronchial diverticula presented at the subcarinal lesions. We experienced two cases with bronchial diverticulum injuries during thoracoscopic esophagectomy, which were repaired by primary closure and confirmed that there was no air leak. No postoperative complications associated with bronchial injury occurred in either patient. CONCLUSION: Since tracheobronchial DVs are not as rare as previously thought, careful evaluation of thin-slice CT scans is necessary before thoracoscopic esophagectomy. If a tracheobronchial DV is injured during surgery, it is important to carefully repair it and confirm that there is no air leak to avoid complications.

Complex rhinobronchial dystrophy and immunodeficiency: Chance association or exceptional congenital syndrome?

INTRODUCTION: We report a case of an exceptional syndromic association of apparently congenital rhinobronchial dystrophy associated with congenital anosmia and common variable immunodeficiency in a twelve-year-old girl. CASE SUMMARY: This young girl, born in 2000, consulted for the first time in 2012 for recurrent respiratory tract infections, refractory to all forms of treatment, starting in early childhood, associated with congenital anosmia and severe atrophic rhinitis as well as common variable immunodeficiency. The laboratory work-up essentially revealed IgG4 deficiency and imaging demonstrated bronchiectasis (lingula), multiple tracheobronchial diverticula, atrophic rhinitis and congenital anosmia with agenesis of the olfactory bulbs and sulci. DISCUSSION: After eliminating a number of differential diagnoses, we were left with the problem of the aetiology, the possible links between these various symptoms and the genetic basis for this apparently congenital complex rhinobronchial disease associated with common variable immunodeficiency. Do these various symptoms correspond to a chance association or an exceptional congenital syndrome that has not yet been identified in the literature? CONCLUSION: A review of the clinical and genetic literature did not enable us to propose a single diagnosis for these symptoms or this complex syndrome.

Embriología del desarrollo de los bronquios y el parénquima pulmonar / Embryology of development of the bronchi and lung parenchyma

Las malformaciones congénitas de aparato respiratorio son un extenso número de patologías que oscilan en gravedad dependiendo del momento embriológico en que se dio el fallo y cuales mecanismos fueron afectados. En la revisión se profundiza en patologías congénitas como el secuestro broncopulmonar y la malformación adenomatoide quística...