Tracheopathia osteoplastica simulating asthmatic symptoms. Diagnosis by bronchoscopy and computerized tomography.

Tracheopathia osteoplastica (TO) is a relatively rare benign disease of the trachea and major bronchi, characterized by cartilaginous and bony submucosal nodules covered by intact mucosa, which may cause narrowing and rigidity of the upper airways. The diagnosis of TO is rarely considered because of a lack of awareness of this entity, rather than the reported rare occurrence. We intend to report herein a case initially misinterpreted as bronchial asthma but later disclosed through computerized tomography (CT) and bronchoscopic biopsies as TO.