title: Spontaneous resolution of a giant pulmonary bulla in an older woman: role of functional assessment.
abstract: Pulmonary bullae usually occur as isolated abnormalities in otherwise normal lung tissue or, more frequently, in the presence of emphysema. Pulmonary bullae tend to progressively increase in their size, and spontaneous regressions have very rarely been reported. In this paper, we report the case of an older woman experiencing the spontaneous resolution of a giant pulmonary bulla. Interestingly, the reported case is characterized by a negligible improvement in respiratory function parameters, despite a substantial increase in the 6-min walking test and the oxygen arteriolar partial pressure.
authors.affiliation: Centro per la Salute dell'Anziano - Area di Geriatria, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy. s.scarlata@unicampus.it
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scarlata
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesari
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Caridi
authors.forename: Domenica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chiurco
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Antonelli-Incalzi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology*; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed