Unmasking Upper Airway Obstruction: A Case of Tracheobronchial Amyloidosis
We present a rare case of a 76-year-old woman with severe tracheobronchial amyloidosis (TBA) causing airway collapse, in which the predominant underlying mechanism was expiratory central airway collapse (ECAC) secondary to both TBA and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). CPAP therapy effectively treated severe OSA, which likely contributed to a reduction in ECAC severity and alleviation of breathlessness. This case suggests that positive airway pressure ventilation may represent a valuable adjunctive treatment in patients with TBA exhibiting features of OSA, particularly when endobronchial intervention is contraindicated or not feasible.
Authors
- Siven Seevanayagam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1430-7188)
- Celia J. Lanteri
- Nicole Goh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2065-4346)
- Chui Lyn Leong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8602-5924)
- Abhir Nainani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3445-9261)
- Vishnu Jeganathan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5113-0302)
Institutions
- Institute for Breathing and Sleep (AU)
- Bendigo Health (AU)
- Austin Health (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Respirology Case Reports
- Published
- 2025-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/rcr2.70357
- Primary Topic
- Amyloidosis: Diagnosis, Treatment, Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00