ACQUIRED TRACHEOBRONCHOMALACIA

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 9  (2) , 52-57
Abstract
In a series of 2150 patients subjected to bronchoscopy 94 (4.5%) had tracheobronchomalacia. Tracheomalacia alone was diagnosed in 21 patients (22%), tracheobronchomalacia in 59 (63%) and bronchomalacia alone in 14 (15%). Mild malacic changes were noted in 44 patients (47%), moderate in 38 (40.5%) and severe in 12 (12.5%). The main symptoms were dyspnea (63%), chronic cough with expectoration (49%) and hemoptysis (33%); the most frequent concurrent diseases were chronic bronchitis (53%), bronchial cancer (27.5%) and pulmonary tuberculosis (19%). Bronchoscopy performed under local anaesthesia enabled the dynamics of the trachea and bronchi to be observed during spontaneous breathing and during coughing, and it is the best available diagnostic procedure. Histologically, the number of longitudinal elastic fibers in the pars membranacea was clearly reduced throughout the whole tracheal area in 1 patient with tracheomalacia but no differences were found in the amount of collagen, mucopolysaccharides and elastin in the cartilages of trachea and bronchi. This disease seems to be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as chronic bronchitis, and it apparently shares the same etiological factors.

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