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Chronic Bronchiolitis in Adults

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Orphan Lung Diseases

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Abstract

“Bronchiolitis” is a general term used to describe a nonspecific inflammatory injury that primarily affects the small airways and generally spares the interstitium. The main types are constrictive bronchiolitis, acute bronchiolitis, proliferative bronchiolitis, follicular bronchiolitis, respiratory bronchiolitis, airway-centered interstitial fibrosis (ACIF), and diffuse panbronchiolitis. The causes are numerous and include: inhalation injury, infection, drugs, connective tissue diseases, secondary to organ transplantation, or may be idiopathic. The disease often presents with dyspnea and cough. Lung function may be normal or may show obstructive changes with air trapping but without reversibility following use of an inhaled bronchodilator. Chest imaging studies, in particular high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans, may show findings consistent with bronchiolitis (air trapping, mosaic attenuation, centrilobular nodules). Symptomatic treatment is required. In some cases, a trial of erythromycin or another macrolide antibiotic is useful. The role of systemic glucocorticoid therapy in non-transplant-related bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is unclear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Talmadge E. King Jr.

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  1. Talmadge E. King Jr.
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Correspondence to Talmadge E. King Jr. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Coordinating Reference Centre for Rare Pulmonary Diseases (OrphaLung), Louis Pradel Hospital, University of Lyon, Lyon, France

    Vincent Cottin

  2. Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy

    Luca Richeldi

  3. National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA

    Kevin Brown

  4. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Francis X. McCormack

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King, T.E. (2023). Chronic Bronchiolitis in Adults. In: Cottin, V., Richeldi, L., Brown, K., McCormack, F.X. (eds) Orphan Lung Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12950-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12950-6_3

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