Endotracheal inflammatory pseudotumor: the role of interventional bronchoscopy.

Abstract

We present the case of a 31-year-old woman with recurrent pneumonia. A chest roentgenogram, a chest computed tomographic scan, and a rigid bronchoscopy revealed a mass in the left mainstem bronchus, which was protruding into the trachea and right mainstem bronchus, with no extraluminal component. Endoscopic biopsies confirmed an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. The patient was treated with two sessions of bronchoscopic resection, followed by medical therapy with corticosteroids and azathioprine. She has been followed-up for 31 months without complications or recurrence. Although the usual treatment for this type of entity is surgical excision, endoscopic resection may be an adequate oncologic procedure when the tumor is completely endoluminal, as in this case.