A case of pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis discovered by CT mass screening and followed by bronchoalveolar lavage

Hiroshi Watanabe, Makoto Maemondo, Shinya Okouchi, Takuji Suzuki, Toshiaki Kikuchi, Ryushi Tazawa, Masahito Ebina, Yasuo Saijo, Yasushi Hoshikawa, Toshihiro Nukiwa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A 42-year-old woman who had a cigarette index of 420 had many cavitary lesions predominantly in the upper areas of both lungs. The lesions were detected on a health examination using CT. Analysis with bronchofiberscopy showed increased CD1a positive cells in bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF). Histological examination by video-associated lung biopsy demonstrated that both S-100 and vimentin-positive cells were present in the peribronchial fibrotic lesions. From these data, this disease was diagnosed as pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH). Three months after the cessation of smoking, the cavity lesions disappeared. As the image findings improved, CD1a positive cells in BALF decreased (4.9% --> 1.8%) and the CD4/CD8 ratio in BALF increased (1.66 --> 6.16). So far, there is no report describing the time course of both CD1a positive cells and CD4/CD8 ratio in BALF after cessation of smoking in PLCH. These findings attract our interest on the PLCH.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)869-873
Number of pages5
JournalNihon Kokyūki Gakkai zasshi = the journal of the Japanese Respiratory Society
Volume44
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - 11-2006
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Medicine

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