Organizing Pneumonia Clinical Features and Diagnostic Techniques
Summary
Organizing pneumonia encompasses a spectrum of pulmonary conditions characterised by plugs of granulation tissue within alveolar ducts, alveoli and bronchioles, often referred to as Masson bodies. Clinically, patients present with subacute respiratory symptoms including non-productive cough, dyspnoea and systemic features such as low-grade fever and malaise. Pulmonary function tests typically show a restrictive pattern with reduced diffusion capacity. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) reveals patchy consolidations, ground-glass opacities, perilobular patterns and the atoll sign. Definitive diagnosis relies on histopathological confirmation via bronchoalveolar lavage cytology, transbronchial biopsy or surgical lung biopsy. Differential diagnosis includes infectious pneumonia, eosinophilic pneumonia, neoplastic infiltration and chronic interstitial pneumonias. Early recognition and accurate diagnosis guide management, which centres on immunosuppressive therapy and, increasingly, steroid-sparing regimens to reduce relapse rates and adverse effects.
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Organizing Pneumonia Clinical Features and Diagnostic Techniques publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in organizing pneumonia clinical features and diagnostic techniques across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Masson bodies: Plugs of fibroblastic tissue within alveolar ducts, alveoli and bronchioles, diagnostic of organising pneumonia.
Ground-glass opacities: Areas of hazy increased lung attenuation on CT in which bronchial and vascular markings remain visible.
Perilobular pattern: Curvilinear opacities around the periphery of secondary pulmonary lobules on HRCT.
Atoll sign: Central ground-glass opacity surrounded by denser consolidation, also known as the reverse halo sign.
Bronchoalveolar lavage: Endoscopic technique to sample cellular and non-cellular components from the lower respiratory tract.
References
- Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia: Pathogenesis, clinical features, imaging and therapy review. Annals of Thoracic Medicine (2008).
- Update on cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. Frontiers in Medicine (2023).
- Predictive factors for relapse of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. BMC Pulmonary Medicine (2019).
- Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia: Evolution of Morphological Patterns Assessed by HRCT. Diagnostics (2020).
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