Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis in childhood: diagnosis by transbronchial biopsy.
A 7-year-old girl of Arabic origin by consanguineous parents presented with a miliary pattern on chest x-ray. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed a histological diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis, a condition rarely described in childhood. This report highlights the clinical and radiological features, documents the transbronchial lung biopsy as a useful diagnostic procedure, and suggests a possible genetic etiology with autosomal recessive inheritance.
Wallis
C
C
Respiratory Medicine Unit, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK.
Whitehead
B
B
Malone
M
M
Dinwiddie
R
R
D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002137:Calculi / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed