Tracheoscopic intervention for tracheal tuberculosis is more specialized

Case Sharing: At the end of 2016, 24-year-old Ms. Xu started coughing, coughing up sputum, hoarseness and other symptoms after being exposed to cold. She went to the local town health center and was considered to have “bronchitis”, and was given cephalosporin antibiotics and other symptomatic treatments for more than 20 days, but the symptoms didn’t improve, instead, the coughing gradually worsened, accompanied by fever and other symptoms. She went to a local tertiary care hospital and was diagnosed with “tuberculosis” and began to receive anti-TB treatment. Three months ago, Ms. Xu began to feel shortness of breath, wheezing, and went to the hospital for tracheoscopy, which revealed that there was a large amount of caseous necrotic material adhering to the lower part of the trachea, and she was given tracheoscopic local drug injection treatment. Antacid staining of biopsy tissue was positive. She was diagnosed with tracheal and left main bronchial tuberculosis. Recently, Ms. Xu felt that shortness of breath worsened again, and a tracheoscopy at the local hospital showed that the left main bronchial stenosis had significantly worsened, and she was recommended to be transferred to our hospital for further treatment. Direct surgery Tracheoscopic balloon dilatation Tracheoscopic balloon dilatation After admission, tracheoscopic treatment was performed under general anesthesia. A conical stenosis was seen in zone 8 of the trachea, with 95% stenosis of the lumen. Balloon dilatation was given (2 times), and the lumen widened significantly compared with the previous one, with about 40% stenosis. After the operation, Ms. Xu felt that her shortness of breath was significantly reduced compared with before. Trachea 8 approach Trachea 8 before treatment Trachea 8 after treatment Young women are the most common group of tuberculosis and tracheobronchial tuberculosis. The onset of the disease is often hidden, and it is easy to be neglected and delayed until the disease becomes serious, resulting in irreversible stenosis or even atresia of the tracheobronchial tubes. For the treatment of bronchial tuberculosis, systemic anti-tuberculosis treatment is the basis, and local drug application is also very important. Tracheoscopic intervention is a safer way to help patients with bronchial tuberculosis regain free breathing. Balloon dilatation plays an excellent therapeutic role in the treatment of airway stenosis caused by various types of tracheobronchial tuberculosis. In our experience, 90% of patients can achieve the goal, effectively avoiding stenting or surgical resection.