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This case study presents a female aged 54 yrs with a 12 months history of progressive pulmonary impairment after a 7-yr period of occupational exposure to rotary-cut polyethylene. An open lung biopsy revealed the histopathology of follicular bronchiolitis that is viewed as a stereotypical feature for flock worker9s lung. It seems to be the first case of plastic flock-associated interstitial lung disease reported outside North America.

Background: Although organizing pneumonia (OP) is a common pathological finding, studies including a substantial number of patients with idiopathic forms from a unique center and a long follow-up are rare. Objectives: To determine patients with cryptogenic forms of organizing pneumonia (COP), in order to characterize their clinical course, to identify predictive factors for relapse and to assess their effect on outcome. Methods: For a 19-year period, all histopathological reports from a community teaching hospital were reviewed, and OP was found in 210 lung specimens belonging to 197 patients. Results: Thirty-three (17%) patients presented cryptogenic forms and 32 of them (97%) responded to steroid therapy. At follow-up, 14 patients presented no relapses (no-relapse group, NR) and 18 (56%) presented relapses (relapsing group, RG) that resolved with ulterior treatment. Multifocal opacities on chest X-ray (RG 83% vs. NR 36%, p = 0.02) appeared to be a predictor for relapse. Patients with relapses showed a shorter time span to chest X-ray normalization (RG 8 ± 8 weeks vs. NR 13 ± 9 weeks, p = 0.09) that became significant in patients with 3 or more relapses (multiple-relapse group, MR, 4 ± 2 weeks vs. NR 13 ± 9 weeks, p < 0.04). Although the initial prednisone dose was similar in patients with relapsing forms, its maintenance was shorter than in patients without relapses, showing a trend to significance (RG 4 ± 3 weeks, NR 7 ± 6 weeks, p = 0.09). Lower levels of lactate dehydrogenase and γ-glutamyltransferase, although always within the normal range, were found in patients with relapsing forms. Conclusion: COP is a specific but infrequent form of OP with a good response to steroid therapy. Relapses are frequent and typical characteristics of COP which resolved with ulterior treatment. Multifocal opacities on chest X-ray and a shorter maintenance of the initial steroid dose may increase the risk of relapse.

The purpose of this study was to review our experience with patients who had a definitive diagnosis of follicular bronchiolitis (FB), and to describe in detail the clinical and pathological findings, looking for common clinical aspects that may help to identify this entity. Ours is a community 750 bed teaching hospital that acts as a tertiary referral center for several subspecialties, including thoracic surgery. Six patients with a morphological diagnosis of FB, defined by the presence of coalescent germinal centers adjacent to airways, were included. Lung biopsy was obtained by thoracotomy in all patients (2 women and 4 men, mean age 53 years). In one patient FB was associated with advanced AIDS, and in another with prolonged exposure to polyethylene-flock. In 4 patients no condition previously associated with FB was found. Five patients had a history of repeated respiratory infections, 3 patients complained of dyspnea and none had peripheral blood eosinophilia. After a mean follow-up of 25 months, 2 patients responded well to steroid therapy; 3 patients suffered symptomatic exacerbations that required an increase in the steroid dose and 1 patient was not treated with steroids. The most important contribution of this series is the description of a subset of patients with FB who were not associated with other processes. These patients present relatively homogeneous clinical and pathological pictures that do not differ greatly from secondary forms.

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