PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Crisan, Emilia
AU  - Croitoru, Alina
AU  - Ulmeanu, Ruxandra
AU  - Alexe, Mihai
AU  - Cordos, Ion
AU  - Galie, Nicolae
AU  - Paleru, Cristian
AU  - Saon, Codin
AU  - Cadar, Genoveva
AU  - Ion, Iolanda
TI  - Evolution and therapeutical features in post-intubation tracheal stenosis in COPD patients
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p614
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/38/Suppl_55/p614.short
4100  - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/38/Suppl_55/p614.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Post-intubation tracheal stenosis represents a severe complication in patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure due to COPD. We present a series of iatrogenic tracheal stenoses in COPD patients addressed to the Bronchology Department during 5 years. There were 13 patients (10 males, 46% over 60 years-old), COPD stage III-IV GOLD, who suffered a severe exacerbation that required oro-tracheal intubation; 8 needed tracheotomy.Tracheal stenoses developed after a mean period of 24 days (7-42) and were clinically significant. Bronchoscopy revealed tracheal stenosis with diameter less than 5 mm. 8 were located in proximal trachea and 5 in medial trachea, with length more than 2 cm in 7 cases and less than 2 cm in other 6. Initially, all were treated with interventional bronchoscopy (dilatation, granuloma resection) but the results were instable in time, requiring other methods: prosthetics (8 cases) or surgery (5 cases). In the patients treated by prosthesis, the stent was removed in 3 cases after 1,5-2 years, the rest remained chronic carriers of prostheses. The patients treated by surgery had significant complications: 1 death by mediastinis, 3 stenosis relapse on the anastomosis line (finally resolved with interventional bronchoscopy). Only one case was successfully solved after surgery. In conclusion, interventional bronchoscopy had a higher success rate (37%) than surgical therapy (20%), also solving the cases complicated post-surgery with reoccurrence of stenosis. While for different etiologies of tracheal stenosis, surgical resection is the first choice of treatment, in patients suffering from COPD, interventional bronchoscopy remains the only way to solve it.