Congenital bronchoesophageal fistula in the adult: a case report1

Abstract

Congenital bronchoesophageal fistula is a rare anomaly that may go undiagnosed for many years. There are <200 reported cases in the literature. Patients usually present with chronic cough, a history of multiple pneumonias, and, less often, hemoptysis. The most sensitive test to diagnose a bronchoesophageal fistula is barium esophagogram. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice and is definitive in almost all cases. We present the case of a 52-yr-old woman with a history of cough and multiple pneumonias who sought medical treatment for abdominal pain. We discuss the presentation and the radiographic, endoscopic, and surgical findings, along with a review of the literature.

Bronchoesophageal Fistula in a Neonate: Radionuclide Study as Diagnostic Modality

“…1 Only 200 bronchoesophageal fistulas have been reported in the literature till 2000, with most being diagnosed during adulthood masquerading as chronic lung disease of unknown etiology. 2 The literature is methods of choice to detect this lesion, failures with either of these methods are also known, probably due to the obliquity of the fistulous tract or its intermittent closure. 1,3 An extensive review of these lesions by Risher et al reveals only 18 of them to be communicating with the right main bronchus, of which only one of them was diagnosed in infancy.…”