An Atypical Case of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Patient from Africa.

An Atypical Case of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Patient from Africa. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Mar 14;55(3): Authors: Pesonen I, Ortiz C, Ferrara G Abstract A 39 years old African man presented with fatigue, loss of weight and night sweats; radiology showed a possible usual interstitial pneumonia pattern. The patient missed follow-up visits, and presented again after 3 years with productive cough and general illness. Pulmonary function tests showed a decline of FVC compared to a previous investigation. The CT scans showed progression of the interstitial lung disease, and a multidisciplinary conference recommended to proceed with a surgical lung biopsy. Histopathology showed an atypical pattern, with bronchiolar metaplasia. A new multidisciplinary conference made a diagnosis of IPF, and the patient was treated with antifibrotic drugs with a good effect, reaching stability of lung function. This case report highlights the need to improve knowledge and to better characterize rare pulmonary diseases, and especially IPF, among African patients. PMID: 30875765 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Medicina (Kaunas) - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Medicina (Kaunas) Source Type: research