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Isolated tracheoesophageal fistula in a 10-year-old girl

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Abstract

Isolated tracheoesophageal fistula (H-TOF) is a rare type of tracheoesophageal anomaly and is in most cases diagnosed in the neonatal period because of choking and cyanosis during feeding. Diagnosis may be delayed even until adulthood because of nonspecific and sometimes intermittent symptoms, and because false-negative results of all diagnostic tools are not uncommon. We report a 10-year-old child with H-TOF, whose symptoms had nearly disappeared completely between the ages of 4 and 10 years. Diagnosis was only possible after the recurrence of the symptoms at the time of an episode of bronchitis, profound interrogation of the child’s medical history, and questioning of the results of a former diagnostic work-up. In this article, we discuss the potential pitfalls in both clinical diagnosis and diagnostic work-up.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Cystic Fibrosis Clinic and Infectiology, Academic Hospital Vrije Universiteit Brussel (AZ-VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Iris De Schutter, Françoise Vermeulen, Elke De Wachter & Anne Malfroot

  2. Department of Radiology, Academic Hospital Vrije Universiteit Brussel (AZ-VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Caroline Ernst

  3. Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Academic Hospital Vrije Universiteit Brussel (AZ-VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Iris De Schutter

Authors
  1. Iris De Schutter
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  2. Françoise Vermeulen
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  3. Elke De Wachter
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  4. Caroline Ernst
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  5. Anne Malfroot
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Correspondence to Iris De Schutter.

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De Schutter, I., Vermeulen, F., De Wachter, E. et al. Isolated tracheoesophageal fistula in a 10-year-old girl. Eur J Pediatr 166, 911–914 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-006-0336-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-006-0336-4

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