2017 Volume 39 Issue 1 Pages 38-42
Background. Endobronchial aspergilloma is a rare variety of pulmonary aspergillosis. We herein report a case of calcified endobronchial aspergilloma mimicking broncholithiasis. Case. A 66-year-old woman with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis had been followed up because of an abnormal chest shadow for 26 years. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest taken seven years prior revealed a calcified nodule in the left B3a bronchus with consolidation around it. Calcification was also observed in the mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. She was referred to our hospital for further evaluation of the increased consolidation in 2014. She had no specific respiratory symptoms. Flexible bronchoscopy showed a yellowish-brown mass lesion obstructing the orifice of the left B3a bronchus. A histologic examination of the biopsy specimen revealed a mass of Aspergillus hyphae with calcification on the surface. Chest CT taken three weeks after the bronchoscopic examination revealed the disappearance of the calcified nodule and a decrease in the consolidation adjacent to the bronchus. Conclusion. Endobronchial aspergilloma with calcification has been rarely reported and should be included in the differential diagnosis of intrabronchial calcification. Flexible bronchoscopy with biopsy is therefore considered to be useful for obtaining a definitive diagnosis.
