Abstract
A 61 year-old woman was admitted to National Yamanaka Hospital on June, 15, 1985 with fever, cough, mucoid sputum and general malaise for a month. There was no history of smoking or exposure to toxic gas. Physical examination revealed goiter and early inspiratory crackle in her right lower lung field. There was no cyanosis or clubbed fingers. The chest X-ray film showed diffuse peripheral infiltrative shadow on the right side. The diagnosis on admission was bacterial pneumonia. The patient was treated with antibiotics, but in vain. She was transferred to Kanazawa Medical University Hospital on July, 26, 1985. The antibiotic therapy was halted and open lung biopsy was done on Aug., 10, 1985. The pathological diagnosis was bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP). She was treated with steroid therapy (prednisolone 40mg orally per day) on August, 10, 1985. There was a good response to steroid therapy. In this case, the etiologic facter was unknown. Some relationship was suggested between the chronic thyroiditis and BOOP. During the course, the specimens of TBLB which had been performed two times in the previous hospital, were not contributory to definitive diagnosis. A final diagnosis was made on the pathological basis of the open lung biopsy specimen.
