Serial Changes in Pulmonary Function Testing in A Patient with Tracheobronchial Amyloidosis: Relevance for Early Diagnosis

Author Info

Eric P. Anderson Kara J. Johnson Marcus J. Geffre Cecilia L Benz Cornelius Dyke Nicole Geissen

Corresponding Author

Cornelius Dyke
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences,1301 N Columbia Rd, Grand Forks, ND 58203

A B S T R A C T

Amyloidosis is a disease of abnormal extracellular deposition of proteins within tissues, commonly affecting solid organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys. Less commonly, amyloidosis may affect the proximal tracheobronchial tree. Clinical symptoms are vague and may include shortness of breath, stridor, hoarseness. Pulmonary function testing at the time of diagnosis usually reveals an obstructive pattern. Diagnosis is difficult, and patients with tracheobronchial amyloidosis are frequently misdiagnosed with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Early changes in pulmonary function testing in patients with tracheobronchial amyloidosis have not been described. We present a case of a firefighter who with obstructive symptomatology who was subsequently diagnosed with proximal tracheobronchial amyloidosis. As a component of his occupational health surveillance, yearly examinations and pulmonary function testing had been performed. Serial pulmonary function testing dating back fourteen years prior to diagnosis reveal an early decrease in peak expiratory flow. Over time and in retrospect, progressive blunting of the expiratory limb of his flow-volume loops is identified beginning ten years prior to presentation. These changes significantly predated his clinical symptomatology and may be useful for early identification of patients with tracheobronchial amyloidosis. The relationship between chronic smoke inhalation and the development of tracheobronchial amyloidosis is unclear

Article Info

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received: Fri 21, Jun 2019
Accepted: Fri 26, Jul 2019
Published: Fri 30, Aug 2019

Copyright

© 2023 Cornelius Dyke. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JICOA.2019.03.03