Esophageal bronchus: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Communicating bronchopulmonary foregut malformation (CBPFM) is a rare abnormality that is characterized by persistent communication between the bronchial tree and the gastrointestinal tract. We report a case of CBPFM in a young girl, with a description of the imaging and surgical details and a short review of the relevant literature.

Esophageal bronchus in an infant—a rare cause of recurrent pneumonia

“…The esophageal bronchus, esophageal lung, pulmonary sequestration, gastrointestinal diverticula, and duplication cyst of the foregut are all included under the umbrella of bronchopulmonary foregut malformations. There are many congenital anomalies often associated with this condition such as duodenal atresia, duodenal stenosis, distal tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, or even congenital heart disease [1,2]. As seen in our patient, the history of duodenal atresia supports the presence of the association between these 2 anomalies.…”

“…Esophageal bronchus is slightly more common in females and usually presents with recurrent respiratory tract infections and feeding difficulties, as seen in our case. This suggests that this anomaly should be considered in the differential diagnoses of patients with recurrent chest infection [2]. Lobectomy is the mainstay of treatment for this condition, but in cases where the whole lung arises from the esophagus, consideration should be given to salvaging the lung if possible.…”

“…Esophageal bronchus can be differentiated from pulmonary sequestration because its blood supply arises from the pulmonary artery, whereas the blood supply of a pulmonary sequestration comes from descending aorta [1][2][3]. Computed tomographic angiography is the diagnostic study of choice to assess the severity of lung involvement and to differentiate between esophageal bronchus and pulmonary sequestration.…”

“…Lobectomy is the mainstay of treatment for this condition, but in cases where the whole lung arises from the esophagus, consideration should be given to salvaging the lung if possible. The severity of the condition depends on the patient's age, size, and location of the anomaly with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic to recurrent severe pulmonary infections or even death [2,4]. The diagnosis is achieved by acquiring a chest radiograph, followed by barium esophagogram and CT angiography to demonstrate the anatomical variation and vascular map to confirm the diagnosis and guide the surgical approach.…”

“…The term esophageal bronchus is used when a lobar bronchus arises from the esophagus, whereas the term esophageal lung is used when the main bronchus arises from the esophagus [1][2][3]. We report a 4-month-old female infant who presented with recurrent pneumonia and was diagnosed with a right lower lobe esophageal bronchus.…”