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Case Reports
A Case of Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis that Improved after a COVID-19 Episode.
- Atsushi Yanagisawa, Takayuki Takimoto, Ryota Shintani, Takehiko Kobayashi, Masaki Hirose, Toru Arai, and Yoshikazu Inoue.
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Hospital Organization Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center, Japan.
- Intern. Med. 2023 Aug 1; 62 (15): 223722412237-2241.
AbstractAutoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (APAP) is caused by macrophage dysfunction owing to the presence of anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) autoantibodies. A 77-year-old man with APAP was referred to our hospital for whole-lung lavage (WLL) due to oxygenation exacerbation and pulmonary shadows. The patient had had coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the APAP evaluation before WLL. About three months after COVID-19 resolved, his oxygenation and shadow reflecting APAP had obviously improved, thus avoiding the need for WLL. We suspected that the improvement in APAP was due to various immunological reactions induced by COVID-19.
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