RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dendriform Pulmonary Ossification
JF Respiratory Care
FD American Association for Respiratory Care
SP respcare.03531
DO 10.4187/respcare.03531
A1 Sebastián Fernández-Bussy
A1 Gonzalo Labarca
A1 Yumay Pires
A1 Juan Carlos Díaz
A1 Iván Caviedes
YR 2014
UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2014/10/14/respcare.03531.abstract
AB Dendriform pulmonary ossification is a rare condition often diagnosed by either surgery or postmortem examination. We report a 43-y-old man with a history of nonproductive cough for 1 y. His physical examination was unremarkable. Chest computed tomography showed multiple bilateral micronodules in both lower lobes; however, the patient’s pulmonary function was normal. Flexible bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsies revealed branching ossification. Pulmonary ossification is a chronic process characterized by progressive metaplastic ossification. We reviewed a total of 42 cases of dendriform pulmonary ossification reported in the medical literature: most of these cases were diagnosed by autopsy. Despite its rarity, dendriform pulmonary ossification should be considered in the differential diagnosis of diffuse lung disease. Bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsies must be considered as a potential diagnostic procedure.