• Seshiru Nakazawa, Toshiki Yajima, Kazuki Numajiri, Natsuko Kawatani, Fumiaki Aoki, and Ken Shirabe.
• Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
• Chest. 2022 May 1; 161 (5): e255-e257.

AbstractCongenital tracheoesophageal fistula is usually diagnosed at an early age, but may remain undetected into adulthood if atresia is absent and if the fistula is small. A tracheoesophageal fistula should be suspected in patients with unexplained episodes of respiratory distress or pneumonia; however, more subtle signs can be an important symptom for early recognition of the disease. Ono's sign is a well-known symptom of tracheoesophageal fistula, characterized by paroxysmal coughing triggered by swallowing of fluids. In the present case, air movement between the esophagus and the trachea through the fistula caused a high-pitched sound, which the patient described as a "catlike cry." The high-pitched sound ceased after surgical closure of the fistula. We report here the symptom of "catlike cry" as one manifestation of tracheoesophageal fistula.Copyright © 2021 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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