title: Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis and probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy.
abstract: Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is a rare disease in which calcium-phosphate microliths accumulate within the alveolar space. We report cases of 2 siblings with PAM, presenting differently as regards the distribution and clinical severity. Immune cytologic analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage showed a CD4 alveolitis in the radiologically most affected patient, whereas the least affected had a normal bronchoalveolar lavage analysis, demonstrating the low specificity of immune cytologic lavage analysis in diagnosing familial PAM. For the first time, we describe the endoscopic findings using a probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Respiratory Division, University Hospitals, University of Leuven, Belgium. jonas.yserbyt@uzleuven.be
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yserbyt
authors.forename: Touffic
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alamé
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dooms
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ninane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods