Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica: A rare case of misdiagnosis and difficult intubation

Abstract

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondro-plastica (TPO) is a rare disorder of yet unknown etiology. The common clinical features include cough with expectoration, breathing difficulty, hemoptysis, and recurrent airway infections, which can lead to a misdiagnosis as another chronic respiratory illness in a large number of cases due to the rare nature of TPO. Here we present a 25-year-old lady who was misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma for many years, and was found to have TPO after difficulty in intubation for administering general anesthesia prior to a surgical procedure.