Abstract:
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are susceptible to airway malacia,
which may be unmasked following mechanical ventilation or tracheostomy decannulation. Dynamic
imaging of central airways, a non-invasive test as effective as bronchoscopy to diagnose airway
malacia, has increased the recognition of this disorder. We describe a 70-year-old woman admitted
with adult respiratory distress syndrome. She had cardiorespiratory arrest on admission, from which
she was successfully resuscitated. She had obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, recurrent
ventricular tachycardia, sarcoidosis with interstitial lung disease and COPD. She received short-
term (18 days) mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy and developed respiratory distress
following tracheostomy decannulation.
