[Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica: an uncommon cause of retention pneumonia in an elderly patient]

A 79 years old patient without preexisting pulmonary disease was admitted due to pneumonia and hemoptysis. Despite intravenous antibiotic therapy he did not recover and still suffered from fever and dyspnea six days later. Fiberoptic bronchoscopia was performed in order to exclude poststenotic pneumonia. However, macroscopically a "rock-garden" trachea, the characteristic picture of osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy, was seen with multiple whitish irregularly shaped nodules in the trachea, except in the pars membranacea, involving both sides of the bronchial system and producing subtotal stenosis. Although cytologic examination suggested adenocarcinoma, histology confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy. Repeated CT scans as well as control bronchoscopy served as a means of excluding simultaneous carcinoma. The case presented here demonstrates that even progressive tracheobronchopathy may remain asymptomatic for a long time until subtotal stenosis or impaired clearing mechanisms may lead to retention pneumonia. Cytologic examination may give false positive results suggesting malignant disease. However the typical macroscopic picture as well as histology should lead to the correct diagnosis.