Objective To highlight the characteristics of acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia ( AFOP) . Methods The clinical, radiological and pathological data of two patients with AFOP were analyzed, and relevant literature was reviewed. Results Two male patients with the age of 48 years and 43 years presented with fever, cough, dyspnea and chest pain. The chest CT scan revealed multiple, bilateral, patchy consolidation distributing in peripheral areas in one case and consolidation in the middle lobe of the right lung and a little pleural effusion in another case. Two patients were diagnosed initially as community acquired pneumonia, but antibiotic treatment was ineffective. After the transbronchial lung biopsy and computed tomography guided percutaneous lung biopsy, pathological examination revealed there were numerous fibrin and organizing tissue in the alveoli without pulmonary hyaline membrane, which were consistent with AFOP. The patients showed significant clinical and radiological improvement after corticosteroid therapy. One patient was stable and the other one died of respiratory failure because of relapse during dose reduction of corticosteroids. Conclusions Patients of AFOP were misdiagnosed as pneumonia easily. Treatment with corticosteroids could be effective to some patients. If the antibiotic treatment was ineffective to the patient with fever and consolidation in the lungs, AFOP should be considered in the differential diagnosis.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical, radiological and pathological characteristics of acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP). MethodsA case pathologically diagnosed with AFOP in September 2013 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University was reported, and the related literature was reviewed. ResultsA 50-year-old woman with fever, chills, cough with sputum and chest pain was admitted to this hospital. The chest CT showed the nodules and patching infiltrates of the right middle lung. The pathological examination revealed the focally exudation of fibrin, lymphocyte infiltration and the presence of foam cells within the alveolar spaces, which is different from other well-known acute lung injures such as diffuse alveolar damage, cryptogenic organizing pneumonitis, and acute eosinophilic pneumonia. Coticosteroid therapy was induced and the patient showed significantly clinical and radiological improvement. ConclusionAFOP has no specific clinical, laboratory tests and radiology features, and it's diagnosis depends on pathological examination. Treatment with coticosteroids is proved to be effective.