Tracheobronchomalacia in infants: The use of non-breath held 3D CT bronchoscopy

Summary Objective To evaluate the use of a non‐breath held 3D‐CT‐bronchoscopy in detecting tracheobronchomalacia in infants. Methods The study was based on 17 infants who received both bronchoscopy and 3D‐CT‐bronchoscopy within 1 week at our institution. 3D‐CT‐bronchoscopy consisted of an axial‐enhanced‐chest‐scan and a 3D‐volume‐external rendering (VR) image of the airways and was scanned with a consciously sedated non‐breath held protocol, using a 64‐channel‐multidetecter‐CT scanner. VR images were classified by two radiologists as normal, luminal narrowing or complete obliteration. All patients were confirmed with bronchoscopy and the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV) was calculated. Results Ten (M:F¼7:3, mean 1 month) out of 17 infants were confirmed of tracheobronchomalacia. The sensitivity was