[Tracheal stenosis and autoimmune thyroiditis].

After exposure to ammonia, a 63 year old woman experienced dyspnoea and respiratory infections. A stenosis was diagnosed in the proximal part of the trachea. High levels of antibodies against thyroperoxidase suggested thyroiditis. After treatment with corticosteroids both the antibodies and the stenosis decreased and the patient's symptoms improved. A few months later the patient developed therapy-resistant uveitis. Cyclosporin was added to the treatment and the condition was stabilized. The diagnosis was unclear. Tracheal stenosis may have developed secondary to autoimmune thyroiditis, while the uveitis probably was another organ manifestation of the autoimmune disease. The ammonia may have caused mucosal oedema, increasing the obstruction to symptomatic level.