Bacterial tracheobronchitis. A rare cause of adult airway stenosis

Bacterial tracheobronchitis is a rare cause of airway stenosis in adults. This report describes a 73-year-old woman with a recent history of polysialadenitis, who presented with severe airway obstruction due to infection and stenosis of tracheal and bronchial tissue. Tissue culture of the bronchial mucosa showed growth of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE). Sputum culture showed growth of MRSE, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae and Enterococcus faecalis; the same organisms were cultured from the salivary glands. Tracheostomy and antibiotic therapy were effective in controlling the disease.