Subglottic inflammatory pseudotumor in a 6-year-old child

Area of Science:

• Pathology
• Otolaryngology
• Oncology

Background:

• Inflammatory pseudotumors (IPTs) are a group of diverse lesions with varied nomenclature, often presenting in common locations like the lung, gastrointestinal tract, and salivary glands.
• Despite varied terminology, IPTs are generally characterized by benignancy, with malignant degeneration being exceedingly rare in reported cases.

Observation:

• This report details an exceptional case of an inflammatory pseudotumor located at the subglottic level, a site rarely affected by this condition.
• Intraoperative diagnosis of subglottic inflammatory pseudotumors can be challenging, underscoring the importance of considering this differential diagnosis in relevant clinical scenarios.

Findings:

• The subglottic inflammatory pseudotumor presented in this case demonstrated a typically good prognosis, consistent with the generally benign nature of IPTs.
• No evidence of malignant degeneration was observed in the presented subglottic inflammatory pseudotumor.

Implications:

• The unusual subglottic localization of inflammatory pseudotumors necessitates increased clinical vigilance and consideration in the differential diagnosis of airway lesions.
• For unresectable or mediastinally invasive cases of inflammatory pseudotumors, radiotherapy emerges as a viable therapeutic option, offering a non-surgical management strategy.