A Case of Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia in a Patient with Rumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

A 56-year-old Japanese man with rheumatoid arthritis was admitted to our hospital with fever and dyspnea. The chest X-ray showed a patchy ground-glass appearance in the right lung and small nodular opacities in the left lung. The laboratory data showed elevated titers of CRP, RA and RAHA. Pulmonary function tests showed restrictive dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity. An open-lung biopsy specimen showed bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP). There was a remarkable clinical, physiological and roentogeographic recovery in response to corticosteroids. In the view of therapeutic response, a histologic confirmation of BOOP by open lung biopsy is important in rheumatoid lung disease.