気管気管支軟化症14例の臨床的検討

抄録

Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) causes severe symptoms such as intense dyspnea and loss of consciousness because of the obstruction of the upper respiratory tract associated with either, persistent or fitful coughing. The disease's course is frequently observed as intractable bronchial asthma.
We had 14 patients with TBM during the 15-year period after our hospital was founded, and we studied their clinical background. All of these patients had primary disease. In 12 of these 14 patients, chronic obstructive lung disease (8 patients with bronchial asthma and 6 patients with emphysema) was the diagnosis. Steroid dependence was observed in 6 patients. It was concluded that these complications had some relation to the disease in question. A saber-sheath type in 10 patients and a crescent-type in 4 patients were observed. Additionally, while examination of the lung function disclosed notch on flow-volume curve in 6 of the patients. The anteroposterior and transverse diameters of the bronchus, on chest X-ray, CT scans, cinebronchography, bronchoscopy, and the detection of notch on flow-volume curve were all useful for diagnosis.