Bilateral partial lung lavage in an infant with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disease in infancy, resulting from abnormalities of surfactant production or decreased catabolism of surfactant. The only effective treatment of the congenital form of PAP is bronchoalveolar lavage. A 4-month-old boy with severe PAP received bilateral partial lung lavage on two occasions resulting in clinical improvement. We performed partial lung lavage using a 3.1 mm flexible fibreoptic bronchoscope introduced through a 4.0 mm tracheal tube under general anaesthesia. The infant did not require extra-corporeal oxygenation during the procedure or postoperative ventilation. This method may offer a feasible option for performing lavage in a resource constrained environment.
Hodges
O
O
Department of Anaesthesia, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, South Africa. o.hodges@uct.ac.za
Zar
H J
HJ
Mamathuba
R
R
Thomas
J
J
D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods; D018893:Bronchoalveolar Lavage / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D020680:Bronchoscopes; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011649:Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis / Q000151:congenital / Q000628:therapy*