Premium
DIFFUSE INTERSTITIAL PULMONARY FIBROSIS AND HONEYCOMB LUNG
Author(s) -
FORBES I. J.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1958.7.3.205
Subject(s) - pulmonary fibrosis , medicine , fibrosis , pathological , pathology , lung , sarcoidosis
Summary The clinical and pathological details are presented of seven cases of diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs conforming to the criteria of Hamman and Rich. Similar interstitial fibrosis was found in the lungs of a patient suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. One case of "honeycomb lung". complicating a more chronic diffuse interstitial fibrosis was described. It has not hitherto been appreciated that honeycomb change occurs in most cases of diffuse interstitial fibrosis of Hamman‐Rich type. Although this type of interstitial fibrosis was formerly thought to be an acute process, it is now apparent that even the most rapidly fatal cases have been in progress many months, and what has been thought to be a fulminating acute course is actually the rapid terminal deterioration. The symptoms and signs, course and pathological physiology are readily explained by the anatomical alterations. Curious "conchoidal bodies" similar to Schaumann bodies in sarcoidosis were found in the lungs of four subjects. Their significance is not known. Similar interstitial changes occur in many conditions. They evidently represent a pattern of response to injury of the pulmonary mesenchymal ground substance. The ætiology of Hamman‐Rich fibrosis is discussed. An auto‐immune phenomenon may he involved. The status of treatment with adi enal steroids and corticotrophin is discussed.