Summer-type Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis with Remarkable Obstructive Impairment of Pulmonary Function
Shin-ichiro Iwakami Kenji Shiina Akihiko Owada Kiichi Hasunuma Kazuhiko Sato Hideki Takahashi Takashi Dambara Hideaki Miyamoto* Toshimasa Uekusa** Yoshinosuke Fukuchi
Department of Respiratory Medicine, *Department of Thoracic Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Department of Pathology, St. Luke International Hospital
A 57-year-old-man was admitted because of persistent cough and progressive dyspnea over a period of 2months. Examination revealed wheezing in both lungs, severe hypoxemia, and marked obstructive impairment of pulmonary function. A chest CT scan showed diffuse small nodular lesions with patchy air space opacifications. The patient was initially given a diagnosis of bronchiolitis of unknown cause. He showed marked improvement after treatment with oral prednisolone, but developed fever and dyspnea after returning home. This episode indicated hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a diagnosis supported by findings of increased CD8 positive T-lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and a high titer of serum anti-Trichosporon antibody. Lung biopsy samples obtaned under video-assisted thoracoscopy disclosed noncaseating granulomas in terminal and respiratory bronchioles, which resulted in marked narrowing of the lumen. The pathologic changes seemed to be consistent with obstructive impairment of pulmonary function in this patient.
Summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis Obstructive changes in pulmonary function Lung biopsy under video-assisted thoracoscopy
Received 平成10年3月11日
JJRS, 36(12): 1048-1052, 1998