J Korean Radiol Soc.  1990 Apr;26(2):322-329. 10.3348/jkrs.1990.26.2.322.

CT findings of tracheobronchial tuberculosis

• Do YS
• Im JK
• Han JH
• Kim WH
• Han MC
• Kim CW

• KMID: 2358948
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jkrs.1990.26.2.322

Abstract

Tracheobraonchial tuberculosis is the tubercuous affection of tracheobraonchial wall mainly due to directimplantation of infected sputum through airway. When inflammation extends deeply into the bronchial mucosa,causing ulceration and necrosis, healling can occur with fibrosis and result in bronchial stenosis.There have beenmany reports of simple chest findings and bronchogaphic findings about tachebrochial tuberculosis. But there is noreport about CT findings of tracheobronchial tuberculosis. We reviewed and analysed CT findings of 15 cases oftracheobraonchial tuberculosis which were examined during the period from January 1987 to August 1989. Thediagnossis was based on bronchoscopic biopsy (5), positive sputum, AFB (5) or previous antituberculous medicationwith ttpical bronchoscopic finding (5). All 15 patients were studied with a GE-9800 scanner after injection ofintravenous conntrast media injection. The results were as follows. 1. Of the 15 cases, 13 cases were female and 2cases were male. Most patients were female in their twenties of thirties. 2. The CT findings of endobronchiallesion are luminal narrowing in 15, luminal obstruction in 6, increased wall thickness in 9, wall enhancement in2, surrounding fat plane obliteration in 7. 3. CT and bronchoscopy, equally detected bronchial lesions in 8 cases.CT was superior in 4 cases and bronchoscopy was superior in 2 cases. 4. The most frequently affected site was leftmain bronchus (8), followed by trachea (4), right main bronchus (4), right bronchus intermedius (4), RUL bronchus(3), LUL bronchus (3), LLL bronchys (3), RML bronchus (1), RLL bronchus (1), 5. There were 8 cases of surroundinglymphadenopathy and 7 cases of surrounding calcified lymph node. Mainly right paratracheal and tracheobronchiallymph node enlargement were observed. 6. The findings of parenchymal lesion were ill-defined nodule in 10,ateletasis in 9,bronchiectasis in 8, emphysema in 7, consolidation in 5 and cavity in 2. No parenchymal lesion in1 case. Tracheobronchial stenosis, involving concentrically and long segment, in a relatively young female patientwithout visible mass around the stenotic segment are the typical findings of tracheobronchial tuberculosis.

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Bronchi
Bronchoscopy
Constriction, Pathologic
Emphysema
Female
Fibrosis
Humans
Inflammation
Lymph Nodes
Male
Necrosis
Phenobarbital
Sputum
Thorax
Trachea
Tuberculosis*
Ulcer
Phenobarbital