CRYPTOGENIC ORGANIZING PNEUMONIA IDIOPATHIC BRONCHIOLITIS OBLITERANS ORGANIZING PNEUMONIA

SUMMARY Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia is a rare pulmonary disease with characteristic clinical, radiologic and histologic features. The radiologic presentation, and ventilatory and respiratory lung func-tions reflect the presence of intra-alveolar buds of granulation tissue occurring within the alveoli and alve-olar ducts but rarely occupying the bronchiolar lumen. Therefore, it has been accepted that the diagnosis of these characteristic but not specific presentations of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia requires histologic confirmation. The terms cryptogenic organizing pneumonia and idiopathic bronchiolitis obliterans organiz-ing pneumonia are synonyms. There is also secondary organizing pneumonia casually related to various conditions. Presentation is made of two patients with different clinical manifestations of cryptogenic orga-nizing pneumonia: one with low-grade chronic clinical course and migratory inflammatory lung infiltrates, and the other with severe acute clinical manifestations of the disease. In both patients with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, corticosteroids showed high efficacy for both primary disease and relapses. Key words: Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia diagnosis; Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia therap