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Abstract

The incidence of benign obstructive central airway disease has been increasing. There are several causes for this type of obstruction. The most common appears after orotracheal intubation and post-tracheotomy. The diagnosis of tracheal stenosis requires clinical suspicion and complementary diagnostic tests. The authors describe the case of a patient who showed respiratory distress and dyspnoea that had biphasic stridor, with no changes in cardiopulmonary auscultation or in blood samples. Chest X-ray revealed severe narrowing of the tracheal air column at C7 level, confirmed by CT scan. This report shows a rare case of tracheal stenosis, with images of clinical interest and relevance, that can alert scientific community to this situation.