By a thread

Abstract

The incidence of benign obstructive central airway disease has been increasing. There are several causes for this type of obstruction, the most common causes are secondary obstructions to orotracheal intubation and post-tracheostomy. The diagnosis of tracheal stenosis requires clinical suspicion and complementary diagnostic tests. The authors describe the case of a patient who exhibited respiratory distress and dyspnea that had biphasic stridor, with no changes in cardiopulmonary auscultation or in blood samples. Chest X-ray revealed severe narrowing of the tracheal air column at C7 level, confirmed by CT scan. The clinical case shows a rare case of tracheal stenosis, with images of significant clinical interest and relevance, which can serve to alert the scientific community to this particular clinical situation.