Peribronchial cuffing

Peribronchial cuffing, also referred to as peribronchial thickening or bronchial wall thickening, is a radiologic sign which occurs when excess fluid or mucus buildup in the small airway passages of the lung causes localized patches of atelectasis (lung collapse).^[1] This causes the area around the bronchus to appear more prominent on an X-ray. It has also been described as donut sign, considering the edge is thicker, and the center contains air.

Examples

Peribronchial cuffing is seen in a number of conditions including:

• Acute bronchitis
• Asthma following exercise or during an acute episode
• Bronchiolitis
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• Congestive heart failure
• Cystic fibrosis
• Diffuse parenchymal lung disease
• Extreme exertion through physical exercise
• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
• Human metapneumovirus
• Kawasaki disease
• Lung cancer
• Pneumonia
• Pulmonary edema
• Smoke inhalation

Treatment

As peribronchial cuffing is a sign rather than a symptom or condition, there is no specific treatment except to treat the underlying cause.