A rare case of an infected tracheal diverticulum requiring emergency intervention: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Recent advancement in radiological imaging has revealed an increasing amount of asymptomatic abnormalities. Tracheal diverticula are relatively rare entities and are incidentally found on radiological imaging such as computed tomography. Here, we present a case of an infected tracheal diverticulum presenting as a paratracheal mass, which required emergency intervention. CASE PRESENTATION: A 65-year-old Japanese nonsmoker man presented with a fever, lower neck pain, and the aggravation of dyspnea for a week. An enhanced computed tomography scan demonstrated that the trachea was displaced by a paratracheal mass with a well-defined thin wall. His respiratory status was so urgent that emergency intubation and surgical drainage of the abscess were performed. A computed tomography scan performed 4 days after admission demonstrated shrinking of the abscess, and he was extubated and discharged 7 days after admission without any complications. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to confirm an infected tracheal diverticulum presenting as a paratracheal abscess, which required emergency intervention. Moreover, computed tomography plays an important role in the differentiation of paratracheal masses.