Abstract
A patient with AIDS presented with progressive dyspnea leading to respiratory failure with near complete airway obstruction due to primary tracheal lymphoma. Laser therapy was used locally to debulk the tumour, which facilitated extubation and led to definitive treatment with chemotherapy. Alternatives for local airway control are discussed.
Highlights
A patient with AIDS presented with progressive dyspnea leading to respiratory failure with near complete airway obstruction due to primary tracheal lymphoma
We report the case of a patient with primary tracheal lymphoma and AIDS complicated by airway obstruction
Most reports of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) involving the airway are secondary to mediastinal nodal disease and three of these cases were associated with HIV/AIDS [2,3,4]
Summary
Laser therapy for an obstructing primary tracheal lymphoma in a patient with AIDS. A patient with AIDS presented with progressive dyspnea leading to respiratory failure with near complete airway obstruction due to primary tracheal lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION A 37-year-old woman with AIDS presented to St Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, for dyspnea, wheezing and worsening cough Two weeks earlier, she had been admitted and treated for suspected Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Her chest radiograph was initially interpreted as showing no gross abnormality; spirometry after bronchodilator therapy was consistent with a fixed obstructive defect (Figure 1) Her past medical history was significant for a 23-pack-year history of smoking and numerous respiratory illnesses.
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