Service of Pneumology, Catholic University of Louvain, University Clinics of Mont-Godinne, Yvoir, Belgium.
A previously healthy woman aged 53 years presented with cough, night sweats and weakness. Chest roentgenogram revealed a reticulonodular infiltrate of the right upper lung. Multiple sputum cultures were positive for Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, with no immunodeficiency disease. Fibreoptic endoscopy showed multiple tracheal cartilaginous knobs from a tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica. The infiltrate improved after chest physiotherapy, but sputum cultures remained positive. Despite its low incidence, tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica can be associated with atypical mycobacterial disease.