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Case Reports
. 2016 Mar 3:2016:bcr2015214000.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2015-214000.

Air column beside the trachea

Vijay Hadda  1 , Rohit Kumar  1 , Karan Madan  1 , Anant Mohan  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Air column beside the trachea

Vijay Hadda et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A 60-year-old man, a non-smoker, was referred to us for evaluation of an abnormal chest radiograph that had been taken 2 months earlier when the patient had fever and cough. The fever and cough had subsided after treatment with antibiotics. The patient was asymptomatic at the time of presentation to us. Examination was unremarkable. The chest radiograph showed an air pocket in the right paratracheal region. The diagnosis and differential diagnoses are discussed in this case report.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest radiograph shows a tubular air pocket adjacent to the trachea, on the right side. The air pocket is cylindrical in shape and has distinct borders separating it from the right lung apex and trachea. The radiograph also shows blunting of right costophrenic angle due to incidental infection. There is mild scoliosis of the vertebral column. A few fibrotic bands are also seen in the mid-zone and lower zone of right hemithorax. The tubular air pocket that is seen on the right side of the trachea may have originated from the trachea, larynx, pharynx or apex of the lung.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CT scan of the thorax shows a 2.4×3.7×5.7 cm air-filled sac, on the right side of the trachea, in close proximity to the posterior-lateral wall of the trachea. There are no cartilaginous structures in the walls of the sac. It has no communication with the pyriform fossa, larynx, oesophagus or the ipsilateral lung. It contains only air and has no fluid density and no lung markings within it. A few fibrotic bands can also be seen in the right lower lobe. The CT scan also shows pleural thickening on the right side. The mediastinal structures and overlying bones appear normal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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