The American journal of surgical pathology
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Am. J. Surg. Pathol. · May 2002
Respiratory bronchiolitis: a clinicopathologic study in current smokers, ex-smokers, and never-smokers.
The clinical and pathologic features of 109 cases of respiratory bronchiolitis (RB) identified from review of 156 consecutive surgical lung biopsy specimens were studied. A total of 107 of the 109 cases (98%) occurred in smokers, including all 83 current smokers and 24 of 49 ex-smokers (49%). RB persisted in some patients for many years after stopping smoking, occurring in one third of patients 5 years after quitting, and in one patient 32 years afterwards. ⋯ All occurred in never-smokers, and their significance is unknown. RB is an accurate histologic marker of cigarette smoking, and it may be found many years after smoking ceases. There are no reliable histologic features to distinguish RB-associated interstitial lung disease from RB or desquamative interstitial pneumonia-like reactions from desquamative interstitial pneumonia.