A Case of Tracheal Stenosis Following Brief Intubation for an Acute Exacerbation of COPD

Ju-Zhang Li, Qing Feng, Yu-Feng Liu, Jiang-Nan Zheng Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jiang-Nan Zheng, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, 2666 Ludang Road, Wujiang District, Suzhou, 215200, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Tracheal stenosis following brief intubation is a rare but serious complication and could be misdiagnosed in specific individuals, especially those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. This case report describes a patient with COPD who developed tracheal stenosis following emergency intubation for an acute exacerbation. The patient was managed with invasive ventilation for 28 hours due to an acute exacerbation of COPD and pulmonary encephalopathy. After extubation, the patient presented with respiratory distress, which was successfully treated with bronchoscopic cryotherapy.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tracheal stenosis, bronchoscopy, cryotherapy