Abstract
Inflammatory polyp of the respiratory tract is a protruding lesion composed of granulation tissue. Clinically it is extremely important to distinguish this disease entity from malignant neoplasms in terms of choice of treatment, and possible complications it may produce, such as atelectasis, pneumonia, and asphyxia. Our three cases were as follows. Case 1 : A 61-year-old man with a small red polyp 2mm. in diameter in the truncus intermedius. Case 2 : A 54-year-old woman with a red plump polyp 10mm. in diameter in the lower trachea. Case 3 : A 69-year-old man with a white firm polyp 7.5mm. in diameter in the trachea, possibly due to intratracheal intubation of 6 months' duration. Fifty-one cases of inflammatory polyp in the respiratory tract of unknown etiology, such as our first and second case were collected and reviewed. The patients ranged from 5 to 76 years old, most were affected in their fourth decade. The male to female ratio was 1.6 : 1. The most frequent site of the lesion was the right main bronchus and the right bronchial tree was more frequently affected than the left. Most cases were treated by endoscopic resection. Although the pathogenesis is obscure, considering the chronological changes reported, respiratory tract infection seems to be one of the important causes of inflammatory polyp. The recognition of this disease and its differentiation from neoplasms deserve special emphasis when surgical treatment is considered, because in this desease transbronchoscopic removal would be the treatment of choice.
