Open AccessA case of bronchiolitis obliterans in a young child
Author(s) -
Vaibhav Keskar,
Milind S. Tullu,
Sandeep B Bavdekar
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
indian journal of critical care medicine/indian journal of critical care medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.317
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1998-359X
pISSN - 0972-5229
DOI - 10.4103/0972-5229.76086
Subject(s) - medicine , bronchiolitis obliterans , bronchiolitis , etiology , pneumonia , respiratory tract , obstructive lung disease , sputum , mechanical ventilation , lung , bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia , pediatrics , respiratory system , pathology , pulmonary disease , lung transplantation , tuberculosis
Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is an infrequent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that follows an insult to lower respiratory tract. BO following a severe lung infectious disease is the most common form reported in children. It implies a chronic necrotizing and ultimately fibrosing process affecting the small airways which results in progressive obliteration with resultant obstructive lung disease. The characteristic symptom-complex includes dyspnea, chronic cough, sputum production and wheezing. Although histopathology remains the gold standard for diagnosis, computed tomographic scan is of great help in diagnosis. Etiological role of mechanical ventilation has not yet been studied well. We report a case of BO in a three year old child occurring after an episode of lower respiratory tract infection requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation with subsequent development of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Our patient had a protracted clinical course with good response to corticosteroids.