Spontaneous tracheal rupture associated with acquired tracheobronchomalacia

We report here a very rare case of pneumomediastinum due to spontaneous tracheal rupture with tracheobronchomalacia. The patient was a 74-year-old woman who had suffered nocturnal dyspnea due to productive cough for five days prior to admission and had been treated with corticosteroids for five years at another hospital after being diagnosed with bronchial asthma. Computed tomographic scanning of the chest demonstrated over 1 cm longitudinal small air collections behind the upper trachea. Crescent-type tracheobronchomalacia was diagnosed by emergency bronchoscopy. At the right side of the upper trachea, a 1-cm laceration was revealed. Fibrin glue (Bolheal, Kaketsuken, Kumamoto, Japan) was sprayed on the laceration through an instrument of our design for endoscopic gluing and she was intubated for three days. Furthermore, treatment including administration of antibiotics, an antitussive agent, and a mucolytic agent, in addition to pulmonary physical therapy involving pursed lip breathing exercises and smoking cessation improved her complaints one month after admission.