Objective: To report the successful treatment of plastic bronchitis with aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator.
Design: Case report.
Patients: A 4-yr-old boy with congenital heart disease, who developed plastic bronchitis 33 months after a Fontan operation
Interventions: Long-term treatment with aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator.
Measurements and main results: We describe the case of a boy who developed recurrent episodes of life-threatening airway obstruction secondary to plastic bronchitis. Following the failure of multiple therapeutic interventions, his condition improved significantly with aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator. Several attempts to wean him off this treatment resulted in clinical deterioration. He has remained on long-term aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator.
Conclusion: Treatment of plastic bronchitis with aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator may benefit patients in whom other therapies have failed.