Respiratory failure due to expiratory central airway collapse.

We report a patient with respiratory failure due to expiratory central airway collapse successfully treated with airway stents. A 74-year-old male with obesity and obstructive sleep apnea had recurrent episodes of acute respiratory failure. Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation failed because of patient intolerance and lack of improvement, and soon after he stopped using the noninvasive ventilator he developed severe respiratory failure that required a tracheostomy. He was transferred to our institution one month later. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed diffuse expiratory central airway collapse of both main bronchi and the lower two thirds of the trachea, caused by bulging of the posterior airway membrane. During rigid bronchoscopy we inserted studded silicone stents in the right and left mainstem bronchi and in the distal trachea. The patient was weaned from mechanical ventilation 72 hours later and discharged to a long-term care facility. Expiratory central airway collapse should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with respiratory failure, especially when weaning from mechanical ventilation is difficult.