Pinhole‐Like Central Bronchial Narrowing: A Rare Reversible Manifestation of Eosinophilic Bronchial Inflammation
- 1Division of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine Atsugi City Hospital Atsugi-shi Kanagawa Japan.
- 2Division of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine The Jikei University School of Medicine Minato-ku Tokyo Japan.
Abstract
Recurrent atelectasis is occasionally encountered in clinical practice but may be attributed to repeated respiratory infections without thorough investigation, potentially delaying the diagnosis of the underlying cause. We report a 78-year-old woman with well-controlled asthma who developed recurrent right middle lobe and lingular atelectasis. Bronchoscopy revealed severe pinhole-like narrowing of multiple central bronchi. Although allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis and post-infectious cicatricial stenosis were initially considered, characteristic eosinophilic mucus impaction was absent, and endobronchial biopsy demonstrated marked eosinophilic inflammation of the bronchial wall with airway remodelling. Oral corticosteroid therapy resulted in resolution of the atelectasis and improvement of the bronchial narrowing. This case highlights eosinophilic bronchial inflammation as a rare but reversible cause of central bronchial narrowing and underscores the diagnostic value of endobronchial biopsy in patients with unexplained recurrent atelectasis.
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BibTeX
@article{kizawa2026pinholelike,
title = {{Pinhole‐Like Central Bronchial Narrowing: A Rare Reversible Manifestation of Eosinophilic Bronchial Inflammation}},
author = {Ryusuke Kizawa and Zenya Saito and Kohei Minekawa and Makiko Takatsuka and Takaaki Kitayama and Masahiro Yoshida and Takanori Numata and Jun Araya},
journal = {Respirology case reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/rcr2.70802},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717385},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pinhole‐Like Central Bronchial Narrowing: A Rare Reversible Manifestation of Eosinophilic Bronchial Inflammation
AU - Ryusuke Kizawa
AU - Zenya Saito
AU - Kohei Minekawa
AU - Makiko Takatsuka
AU - Takaaki Kitayama
AU - Masahiro Yoshida
AU - Takanori Numata
AU - Jun Araya
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Respirology case reports
DO - 10.1002/rcr2.70802
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717385
AB - Recurrent atelectasis is occasionally encountered in clinical practice but may be attributed to repeated respiratory infections without thorough investigation, potentially delaying the diagnosis of the underlying cause. We report a 78-year-old woman with well-controlled asthma who developed recurrent right middle lobe and lingular atelectasis. Bronchoscopy revealed severe pinhole-like narrowing of multiple central bronchi. Although allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis and post-infectious cicatricial stenosis were initially considered, characteristic eosinophilic mucus impaction was absent, and endobronchial biopsy demonstrated marked eosinophilic inflammation of the bronchial wall with airway remodelling. Oral corticosteroid therapy resulted in resolution of the atelectasis and improvement of the bronchial narrowing. This case highlights eosinophilic bronchial inflammation as a rare but reversible cause of central bronchial narrowing and underscores the diagnostic value of endobronchial biopsy in patients with unexplained recurrent atelectasis.
SN - 2051-3380
ER -