An unusual cause of recurrent fever

Clinicopathological Features and Management Principles of Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica - A Scoping Review

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is an orphan disease of the tracheobronchial tree without any known etiological attributes. There are several case reports published on this condition, yet the available information about the TO is discrete and of little clinical value. This scoping review is the first large-scale review on TO that collates individual patient data from the published case reports and descriptively analyses the clinicopathological features of this unique condition along with its management approaches and therapeutic outcomes. The objective was to synthesize comprehensive literature review on TO that can aid clinical practice and further research. An electronic search conducted in five large databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and Web of Science, for the published articles of TO yielded 1072 items. After screening, the individual patient data of 371 TO cases from 228 eligible articles were included and analysed in this scoping review.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03998-6.

Nodular trachea: tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TPO) is a rare disorder characterised by development of cartilaginous and bony nodules in the trachea. It usually affects elderly males with total prevalence of disease reported to be around 0.1%. Even though multiple theories and associations have been described, the exact cause of the disease remains unknown. Its presentation is non-specific with many cases being diagnosed incidentally. Chronic cough and dyspnoea are the most common presenting symptoms, but some cases may present with severe airway compromise. We present a case of a 70-year-old man with IgA λ multiple myeloma, who was diagnosed with TPO by flexible bronchoscopy.

Tracheopathia osteochondroplastica: two unusual cases

We describe 2 unusual cases of tracheopathia osteochondroplastica (TPO), one of them presenting with lung carcinoma and the other at an uncommon age. A 74-year-old man presented with chronic bronchitis and a left lower lobe lesion as detected on chest computed tomography. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed multiple calcified nodular lesions involving the anterior-lateral walls of the trachea and main bronchi. Histologic analysis of the tracheal nodules confirmed the presence of TPO. Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed by transthoracic needle aspiration of the pulmonary nodule. The relevance of coexistence of these 2 conditions remains unknown. Our second case was in a young man who presented with persistent cough and a chest computed tomography scan revealing multiple tracheal nodules. Numerous hard tracheal nodules distributed around the lower trachea and main bronchi were observed at flexible bronchoscopy. When the cough and dyspnea persists despite conventional empiric treatment, uncommon tracheobronchial pathologies, such as TPO, should be considered.