Open AccessA spirometric journey following lung transplantation
Author(s) -
Fuller Jeremy,
Paraskeva Miranda,
Thompson Bruce,
Snell Greg,
Westall Glen
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
respirology case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.304
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2051-3380
DOI - 10.1002/rcr2.67
Subject(s) - bronchiolitis obliterans , medicine , spirometry , lung transplantation , lung , lung function , pulmonary function testing , etiology , bronchiolitis , pathology , asthma , respiratory system
Spirometry is regarded as the primary tool for the evaluation of lung function in lung transplant ( LTx ) recipients. Spirometry is crucial in detecting the various phenotypes of chronic lung allograft dysfunction ( CLAD ), including restrictive allograft syndrome ( RAS ) and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome ( BOS ) – note that these phenotypes potentially have different etiologies and therapies. Following LTx for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a 60‐year‐old male recipient's lung function began to gradually improve, peaking at 5 months post‐ LTx . Subsequently, with increasing impairment of graft function, the diagnosis of BOS was made. A second LTx was performed and lung function subsequently began to increase again. Unfortunately, another year on, lung function deteriorated again – this time due to the development of RAS , antibody‐mediated rejection was implicated as the possible underlying cause. This case report highlights the importance of spirometry in assessing the patterns of CLAD following LTx .