Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica

Clinicopathological Features and Management Principles of Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica - A Scoping Review

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is an orphan disease of the tracheobronchial tree without any known etiological attributes. There are several case reports published on this condition, yet the available information about the TO is discrete and of little clinical value. This scoping review is the first large-scale review on TO that collates individual patient data from the published case reports and descriptively analyses the clinicopathological features of this unique condition along with its management approaches and therapeutic outcomes. The objective was to synthesize comprehensive literature review on TO that can aid clinical practice and further research. An electronic search conducted in five large databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and Web of Science, for the published articles of TO yielded 1072 items. After screening, the individual patient data of 371 TO cases from 228 eligible articles were included and analysed in this scoping review.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03998-6.

Tracheopathia osteochondroplastica

The case of a male, 61 years of age, presenting with occasional hemoptysis and shortness of breath (duration of 1 year) is reported. Congestive heart failure was presumed and supported by chest x-ray and echocardiography. The patient improved with diuretic and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy, but continued to experience cough and occasional hemoptysis. Bronchoscopy revealed numerous firm nodular projections within the trachea with distribution along the cartilaginous rings. Tracheopathia osteochondroplastica (TPO) was diagnosed. TPO is an uncommon, benign, but slowly progressive disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by endoluminal projection of cartilaginous and bony nodules arising in the submucosa of the trachea. Involvement may extend to lobar or segmental bronchi. TPO should be considered in cases where cough, dyspnea, persistent pulmonary infection, hoarseness, or recurrent hemoptysis remain after appropriate treatment of other presumptive underlying causes.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica is an unusual disease of obscure causation characterized by cartilaginous or bony outgrowths into the lumen of the tracheobronchial tree. Our retrospective review of 15 patients, 8 of whom were women, revealed a mean age of 63.5 years. The most common symptoms were cough (66%), hemoptysis (60%), dyspnea on exertion (53%), and wheeze (30%). Thirteen percent of the patients were asymptomatic. Chest radiography was not helpful in the diagnosis. Tracheal tomography revealed typical beaded intraluminal calcification in 4 of the 12 patients tested. Mirror laryngoscopy initially revealed the abnormalities in 30% of the patients, and bronchoscopy confirmed the diagnosis and determined the extent of the disease in all patients. Even though upper airway involvement has been thought to be uncommon, 40% of our patients demonstrated abnormalities of the larynx and upper trachea. Histologic confirmation of heterotopic bone formation was obtained in 60% of the patients. Pulmonary function tests showed mild obstructive lung disease. There were no deaths directly attributable to the disease. Treatments attempted included cryotherapy, laser excision, external beam irradiation, and bronchoscopic removal of the obstructing lesions.

Rapid progression of tracheal stenosis associated with tracheopathia osteo-chondroplastica

Tracheopathia osteochondroplastica (TPO) is a rare, but increasingly recognised condition in which there is accumulation of calcium phosphate with benign submucous proliferation of cartilage and bone beneath the tracheal mucosa, often with squamous metaplasia of the mucosal columnar epithelium. This condition is usually asymptomatic, but may be slowly progressive, causing haemoptysis, dry cough and dyspnoea. We report a case of TPO in which there was rapid progression of tracheal stenosis such that the size of endotracheal tube that the upper airway would accept changed from 8.00 mm to 3.0 mm during a six-week period. This extreme reduction in airway calibre had not been detected on spirometry nine days prior to his final admission. This is the first report of such rapid progression of tracheal stenosis associated with TPO.