Complex multimodality central airway management of aspergillus pseudomembranous tracheobronchitis

Abstract

A 69-year-old woman developed central airway obstruction due to invasive Aspergillus infection resulting in pseudomembranous tracheobronchitis (PTB). Several challenges were encountered in the airway management of this patient including her having relatively smaller airways which were more prone to obstruction by pseudomembranes and made airway interventions difficult. The patient had clinical deterioration in spite of antifungal therapy and bronchoscopic debridement. The multimodality airway techniques included the use of smaller biliary balloons for dilatation, using a hybrid stent to slowly dilate and maintain patency of right main stem and finally the insertion of right secondary carina peripheral Y stent, which resulted in clinical improvement and allowed time for antifungal therapy to take effect. To the best of our knowledge, the use of a peripheral Y stent has never been described in the setting of PTB.