Plastic bronchitis: new insights and a classification scheme.

Plastic bronchitis is a rare disease in which there is the formation of large gelatinous or rigid branching airway casts. The history of the disease is reviewed and a classification system is proposed based on our current understanding. This system classifies plastic bronchitis by clinical disease association and cast histology. A summary of the medical literature is included together with guidelines for treatment. The evidence for these treatment decisions is reviewed.