PULMONARY ALVEOLAR PROTEINOSIS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: A case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is reported, in the belief that this is the first case to be recognized in New Zealand and possibly in Australasia. This condition, of unknown ætiology, was first described in June, 1958, by Rosen, Castleman and Liebow. This chronic and sometimes fatal illness often begins with a pneumonic episode followed by dyspnœa, cough, chest pain and loss of weight. Characteristically, the symptoms, physical and radiological signs and pathological changes are limited to the lower part of the respiratory tract and the lung parenchyma. Equally characteristically, the physical signs fail to reflect the often gross radiological changes of extensive, pulmonary infiltration. The essential histological feature is the plugging of alveolar and other distal air spaces in the lungs with a proteinaceous material rich in lipids. This patient was ill for approximately four years before making a complete recovery.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: