[Expiratory tracheal stenosis]

The paper presents the results of X-ray study of 152 patients with bronchial asthma which has been made to detect the collapsing trachea. The patients were treated at a specialized pulmonological unit of the S. P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital and referred for X-ray examination for diagnosis of the collapsing trachea. It outlines the procedure for X-ray detection of the collapsing trachea and its severity. The procedure is easy-to-use and it is not a burden to patients. In terms of its techniques, the proposed procedure is similar to that of the Sokolov diaphragmatic motility examination. The examination revealed no collapsing trachea in 38 out of 152 patients, while degree I stenosis was diagnosed in 54, degree II in 43, and degree III in 8. Moreover, 9 patients were found to have tracheomegaly. No expiratory stenosis was detected in a control group of 30 patients. An element of subjectivity is sure to be present in the assessment of examination results. A difference in tests made by different patients is also of significance. The simplicity of the procedure, easiness for patients to perform it, possible outpatient application, sufficient efficiency provide a basis for recommending it to be used by therapeutical roentgenologists in their practical work.