The patient was a 43-year-old woman complaining of progressive dyspnea and fever. Rales in the lungs and clubbing of the fingers were seen at clinical examinations. Chest roentgenogram showed nodulary opacities in the midle and lower lung fields giving a ground-glass appearance. Corticosteroids and antibiotics produced no response and she died on the 24th admission day.
Histological findings of the autopsy lung were as follows. The alveolar septa were thickened with infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells as well as proliferating fibroblasts and alveolar pneumocytes. In the alveoli, there were numerous bizarre multinucleated giant cells with a high phagocitic activity which Liebow considered “cannibalistic”. The cause of the disease was not disclosed by the patient's history and results of examinations. This report may show the first GIP case in Japan.
