IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL OF A PULMONARY LESION WHEN TUBERCULOUS TRACHEOBRONCHITIS COEXISTS

The present extended use of bronchoscopy for the detection of lesions of the larger airways in tuberculosis has finally enabled the clinician to recognize the importance of tuberculous tracheobronchitis. This is shown clearly in the volume of case reports and papers which have accumulated in the literature, particularly during the past five years. As experience has enlarged, the pathogenic course, the signs and symptoms, and the associated roentgenographic pulmonary changes of tuberculous tracheobronchitis have become familiar to clinicians. Divergence of opinion occurs, however, concerning the advisability of pulmonary collapse and the necessity or value of certain local measures utilized in the treatment of the tracheobronchial lesions. It seems that the general management in cases of this type will remain a controversial subject until more endoscopic, clinical and laboratory findings are analyzed and correlated. Samson,¹ Samson and co-workers,² Myerson,³ Barnwell, Littig and Culp,⁴ Kernan,⁵ McIndoe and associates,⁶ Hawkins,⁷ Peirce and Curtzwiler,⁸