Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica

Clinical Cases

Published in S. J. Copley, J. P. Kanne, D. M. Hansell, Thoracic Imaging, 2014

S. J. Copley, J. P. Kanne, D. M. Hansell

ii. The appearances are those of relapsing polychondritis, a rare disease of unknown aetiology characterised by recurrent inflammation of cartilage. The differential diagnosis includes tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica and amyloidosis (which also affects the posterior tracheal membrane, which is spared in this patient). Structures that are most often affected by relapsing polychondritis include the nasal cartilage, the pinna and the cartilage-containing large airways. The disease is commonest in the fifth decade and there is an equal sex incidence. There is an association with other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Histopathological findings are chondral and perichondral inflammation with chondrolysis.

Tracheobronchial amyloidosis: A report of two cases and literature review

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Journal Information

Published in Canadian Journal of Respiratory, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, 2018

Sultan Qanash, Nadir Kharma, Stephen Corne

Bronchoscopy is an essential tool in the diagnosis of TBA, allowing direct visualization of the lesions, comprehensive airway evaluation for assessing extent and location of disease, and biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Amyloid lesions are typically white, plaque like or polypoid, and involvement includes the membranous portion of the trachea, in contrast to tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica. Additionally, amyloid lesions are friable and may have a higher risk of bleeding.6 Definitive diagnosis of TBA is obtained by identification of the amyloid protein, with histological confirmation through Congo red staining, which produces red-green birefringence under crossed polarized light.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica

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Clinical Cases

Tracheobronchial amyloidosis: A report of two cases and literature review