Clinical Features:
Patient 1 was a 65-year-old woman with “incidental” pleural thickening seen on a chest radiograph 10 years prior to referral. Four years prior to referral, she underwent a modified radical mastectomy for adenocarcinoma of the breast and was treated with adjuvant chemotherapy of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) without radiation therapy. The patient was treated with daily doses of tamoxifen, and she returned to her baseline function of aerobic exercise 60 min daily. Eight months prior to referral, dyspnea on exertion and a nonproductive cough developed. Chest radiography revealed a new right pleural effusion and progressive, pleural thickening (greater in the right lung than in the left) when compared to prior radiographs. Pleural fluid was negative for malignancy. A diagnostic video-assisted thorascopic lung biopsy was performed, and at surgery a complex pleural process with extensive fibrosis requiring decortication was found. Physical examination findings were significant for tachypnea, tachycardia, diffusely decreased breath sounds, and decreased diaphragmatic excursion. Extensive evaluation was negative for pneumoconiosis, autoimmune disease, and HLA-B27–related disease.
Patient 2 was a 52-year-old man in whom exertional breathlessness developed following an upper respiratory tract infection. A chest radiograph revealed bilateral pleural thickening. One year later, he underwent right-sided pleural decortication with symptomatic improvement. However, several months later, progressive dyspnea again developed. Ultimately, the patient underwent left pleural decortication. The patient returned to work but remained dyspneic with a productive cough. He was then referred to our institution. His medical history was significant for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (hereditary motor sensory neuropathy), gastroesophageal reflux, and narcolepsy. A sister had sarcoidosis, and he had previously worked in both construction and agriculture, although a direct exposure to asbestos was absent. On examination, he was mildly tachycardic and tachypneic. Fine mid-late inspiratory rales and distant breath sounds were noted. Autoimmune serology findings were negative.
Patient 3 was a 61-year-old woman who presented with chronic cough. Diagnosed with asthma in her 20s, she had experienced multiple episodes of “bronchitis” and “pneumonia” over her lifetime. At the time of referral, the cough was accompanied by wheezing, dyspnea, and chest tightness that occurred on a daily basis. Her medical history was significant for breast cancer that had been diagnosed and treated 10 years previously with a left modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy with CMF, and radiation therapy. She had experienced no significant environmental or occupational exposures. Examination findings noted mild tachypnea and tachycardia with fine mid-late inspiratory rales at the left base, and mild-moderate kyphoscoliosis, and a mid-systolic click found during her cardiologic examination that was consistent with mitral valve prolapse. Bronchoscopy, routine laboratory examination findings, autoimmune serology results, cystic fibrosis genotyping results, and α1-antitrypsin levels were all unrevealing. Prior chest radiographs and chest CT scans had revealed biapical pleural thickening 5 years earlier.
Patient 4 reported reduced exercise tolerance as a teenager. At age 32 years, she underwent a pulmonary evaluation following a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in her twin sister. Her pulmonary physiology was restrictive, but as she was asymptomatic no further evaluation was performed. Seven years later, cough and pleuritic chest pain developed. An examination revealed a loud pleural rub, and she was treated with antibiotics. Over the next year, recurrent pneumonias developed and she was referred to our institution. The patient was a life-long nonsmoker without occupational or environmental exposures. Family history was significant for a twin sister who died of progressive pleuroparenchymal fibrosis (ie, patient 5) and a grandfather with rheumatoid arthritis. An examination revealed mild tachypnea and tachycardia, a pleural rub at the right base, and rales at the left base. Laboratory examination findings were notable for an erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 47 mm/h but negative autoimmune serology results.
Patient 5, the twin sister of patient 4, presented in 1987 at age 32 years with right upper lobe pneumonia. Chest radiographs revealed progressive upper lobe volume loss and bilateral pleural thickening. Her pulmonary physiology was restrictive. The patient was a nonsmoker and worked as a nurse. Her anti-nuclear antibody titer was 1:80, and rheumatoid factor titer was 1:160 without other evidence of a connective tissue disease. An evaluation for HLA-B27–associated disease was negative. The patient underwent surgical lung biopsy that showed pleural fibrosis and patchy interstitial fibrosis. The patient was treated with steroids without improvement. She died of progressive respiratory failure 5 years after undergoing surgical lung biopsy. An autopsy revealed marked pleural and interstitial fibrosis that was identical to that found in her twin sister. In summary, we have reported five cases of a unique idiopathic pleuroparenchymal lung disease that is characterized by upper lobe radiographic predominance and pathologic findings that do not fit with any of the currently defined interstitial pneumonias. We term this disorder idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis.
cite from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23169023
Case 1 chest CT: biapical fibrotic changes, pleural and parenchymal densities in the right upper lobe as well as mild emphysematic changes.
Case 2 pathology: hematoxylin-eosin stain showing abundance of elastic fibers in addition to collagen fibers and abrupt transition from fibroelastosis to unaffected normal lung parenchyma. Insert: slide 'thumbnail' view demonstrating an extraordinarily thick pleural cap with sparing of the adjacent lung parenchyma.
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