Sporadic Obliterative Bronchiolitis: Case Series and Systematic Review of the Literature.

objectiveTo describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients diagnosed with obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) not associated with transplantation or point-source exposures to inhaled toxins. PATIENTS AND

methodsWe compiled all confirmed diagnoses of OB at our institution and analyzed their demographic characteristics, treatments, and outcomes as defined by pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and transplant-free mortality. The study period ranged from July 2007 to August 2017. Histological diagnosis was confirmed by a pathologist, and high-resolution chest computed tomography (CT) scans were reviewed and scored by chest radiologists. We also performed a systematic literature review of sporadic OB series.

resultsWe identified 19 confirmed cases at our institution and 9 publications in the literature containing 104 patients. In both our series and the literature, patients were disproportionately middle-aged Caucasian women. The disease was idiopathic in 42% and was associated with connective tissue diseases and inhalational exposures in 31% and 15%, respectively. Chest CT showed expiratory air trapping in all patients. Patients were treated with corticosteroids, steroid-sparing agents, and macrolides in 77%, 46%, and 22%, respectively. Over a median follow-up in our series of 1703 days (range, 11-3206 days), PFTs did not change significantly. In all series combined, mortality incidence from any cause was 82/1000 patient-years (95% CI, 65-102). Of 14 patients who died, 3 deaths were due to respiratory failure and 5 were potentially related to complications of immunosuppressive therapy.

conclusionSporadic OB is a rare disease that is uniformly associated with air trapping on high-resolution chest CT. The diagnosis should be established with surgical biopsy if possible. The illness is not typically progressive.