Plastic bronchitis
disorder in which branching casts of the airways are expectorated
Plastic bronchitis (PB) is a disorder in which branching casts of the airways – i.e., accumulations of fluid or tissue that are molded in the shape of the airway – are expectorated. PB is not a single disease with a defined mechanism that explains the cast formation in all conditions. Examples of diseases associated with expectoration of casts, and which sometimes are labeled PB, include tuberculosis, atypical mycobacterial disease, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and asthma.
When casts are very large with many branches, an abnormal communication or leakage of lymphatic fluid into the airway is often the cause. This entity is termed lymphatic plastic bronchitis (LPB). LPB is a lymphatic flow disorder characterized by the recurrent formation of branching, rubbery bronchial casts composed primarily of proteinaceous and sometimes chylous material and lymphocytes. Lymphatic fluids deposited into the airspaces become gelatinous as they cool, forming large string cheese-like casts of the airways, which can obstruct airflow. Attempts to expectorate casts can be quite frightening, leading to fears of asphyxiation.
Signs and symptoms
The clinical presentation of plastic bronchitis beyond expectoration of casts includes a productive cough, dyspnea, fever and wheezing. Focal wheezing is a characteristic, if not specific, physical examination finding.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Plastic bronchitis” is disorder in which branching casts of the airways are expectorated. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Plastic, bronchitis and disorder, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28530014. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Plastic bronchitis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.