Expiratory central airway collapse during positive pressure ventilation: a case report

Physiologic narrowing of the central airway occurs during expiration. Conditions in which this narrowing becomes excessive are referred to as expiratory central airway collapse. Expiratory central airway collapse is usually managed by applying positive pressure to the airways, which acts as a pneumatic stent. The particularity of the case reported here included the patient's left main bronchus being permeable during spontaneous breathing but collapsing during general anaesthesia, despite positive pressure ventilation and positive end-expiratory pressure.

We present the case of a 55-year-old man admitted for the placement of a ureteral JJ stent. Rapid desaturation occurred a few minutes after the onset of anaesthesia. After excluding the most common causes of desaturation, fibreoptic bronchoscopy was performed through the tracheal tube and revealed complete collapse of the left main bronchus. The collapse persisted despite the application of positive end-expiratory pressure and several recruitment manoeuvres. After recovery of spontaneous ventilation, the collapse was lifted, and saturation increased back to normal levels. No evidence of extrinsic compression was found on chest X-rays or computed tomography scans.

Cases of unknown expiratory central airway collapse reported in the literature were usually managed with positive pressure ventilation. This approach has been unsuccessful in the case described herein. Our hypothesis is that mechanical bending of the left main bronchus occurred due to loss of the patient's natural position and thoracic muscle tone under general anaesthesia with neuromuscular blockade. When possible, spontaneous ventilation should be maintained in patients with known or suspected ECAC.