Pyothorax Revealing an Inflammatory Endobronchial Polyp: A Case Report

Abstract

An inflammatory polyp of the bronchus is a rare, benign, endobronchial tumor histologically consisting of a fibrovascular stroma covered with normal respiratory epithelium. We report a case of an inflammatory polyp originating from the right intermediate trunk revealed by a right pyothorax. This is the case of a 75-year-old man, an active smoker, who presented a productive cough with greenish sputum, dyspnea associated with lower right chest pain, in a febrile context and deterioration of the general condition, with right hemfield fluid syndrome. The standard chest radiograph showed: a dense homogeneous opacity of the lower right hemithorax presenting a D shaped pleural effusion aspect. The chest CT revealed a tissue lesion localized on the intermediate trunk associated to an aerated atelectasis of the right lower lobe, a large right pleural effusion with signs of infection with pleural thickening. The bronchoscopy showed the presence of a polypoid formation localized in the intermediate trunk whith purulent secretions.