PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Guerrero, Jorge
AU  - Mallur, Pavan
AU  - Folch, Erik
AU  - Keyes, Colleen
AU  - Stillman, Isaac E
AU  - Gangadharan, Sidhu P.
AU  - Majid, Adnan
TI  - Necrotizing Tracheitis secondary to Corynebacterium species presenting with Central Airway Obstruction
AID  - 10.4187/respcare.02150
DP  - 2013 Jun 12
TA  - Respiratory Care
PG  - respcare.02150
4099  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/06/13/respcare.02150.short
4100  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/06/13/respcare.02150.full
AB  - Pseudomembranous necrotizing tracheitis is a rare cause of life threatening central airway obstruction (CAO). Patients present with hoarseness, cough, dyspnea, wheezes, stridor and occasionally respiratory failure. Diagnosis requires high index of suspicion and should be confirmed with a comprehensive bronchoscopic examination and biopsy. For patients with signs and symptoms of airway obstruction, a therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy with mechanical debridement is recommended. We present a rare case of necrotizing tracheitis secondary to Corynebacterium species causing life threatening airway obstruction in an adult.