Plastic Bronchitis in a 4 Year-Old Boy Presenting with a Foreign Body Aspiration: A Rare Entity

Abstract

Plastic bronchitis is a rare disease of pediatric age resulting from the fibrinous mucus plugs obstructing the airway. Plastic bronchitis can be secondary to many pulmonary and systemic diseases; but also it can be idiopathic. It is an important entity because it can present with acute respiratory system failure symptoms like non-productive cough, dyspnea and wheezing mimicking foreign body aspiration. Here, we present a 4-year-old boy diagnosed as plastic bronchitis by bronchoscopy. A 4-year-old boy was brought with cough and difficulty in breathing. He had wheezing and dyspnea in pyhsical examination and blood oxygen saturation was 92% without any other clinical and laboratory signs of infection. Chest X-ray and computerized tomography showed characteristics of foreign body aspiration. He was diagnosed as plastic bronchitis by flexible bronchoscopy and had full recovery after extraction of the plugs by aspiration in a bronchoscopy session. Plastic bronchitis is a rare entity of pediatric age. Patients who have respiratory failure resistant to conventional medical therapy; especially if they have radiologic signs of atelectasia or intraluminal blockage, should be evaluated with bronchoscopy.