Plastic bronchitis is an infrequent cause of acute life-threatening respiratory failure that can mimic foreign body aspiration or status asthmaticus. Bronchoscopic extraction must be performed urgently in the case of severe obstruction. This entity is probably underestimated as the casts with their specific ramifications are difficult to recognize. We recommend the immersion in normal saline of all plugs discovered in children with predisposing diseases mainly represented by infections, allergy, acute chest syndrome, and congenital cardiopathies.
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