Calcification and airway stenosis in a child with chondrodysplasia calcificans punctata

Abstract

Calcification of the airways is rarely seen in children. A male baby was born at 34 weeks with severe respiratory distress. Intubation was difficult with severe hypercarbia after intubation. Chest radiography demonstrated calcification in the tracheobronchial tree and this was confirmed with Chest CT scan. Flexible bronchoscopy confirmed long-segment funnel tracheal stenosis with visible calcifications in the trachea and bronchi. Chondrodysplasia punctata was diagnosed based on the clinical and radiological findings.

Figure 1

Chest X-ray demonstrates calcification of the trachea and both main bronchi (arrows). There is bilateral, symmetrical, diffuse granularity to the lungs with loss of the cardiac and diaphragmatic margins consistent with respiratory distress syndrome in this premature neonate. There are no features of congenital heart disease.

Figure 2

CT scan of the chest: (A) axial CT at the level of the trachea confirming circumferential tracheal calcification; (B) axial CT at the level of the main bronchi demonstrating partial calcification involving predominately the anterior aspect of the bronchi and (C) coronal CT reformatting demonstrating extensive tracheobronchial calcifications of the airways.