title: Single center experience of five diffuse panbronchiolitis patients clinically presenting as severe asthma.
abstract: Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a bronchiolitis affecting the whole lung fields which can be treated by macrolide. Especially East Asian patients are more susceptible to diffuse panbronchiolitis. As asthma and DPB both can cause airway obstruction, differential diagnosis is important for the 2 diseases. Here we report 5 patients with DPB clinically presenting as severe asthma in Korea, who were well treated by macrolide. Among the 5 patients, 2 could stop their asthma inhalers and the other 3 could reduce asthma medications after diagnosis and treatment of DPB. In conclusion, considering DPB as differential diagnosis for asthmatics in Asian ethnic groups is important.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Hee
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3605-5364
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Jung
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1862-1003
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0760-0071
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Won
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0249-8749
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D018942:Macrolides
keywords: Asthma; Clarithromycin; Diffuse Panbronchiolitis