Spontaneous Regression of Diffuse Tracheobronchial Amyloidosis

Case Details

Personal Characteristics

A 69-year-old white man, ten-pack-year history of smoking cigarettes but had stopped eight years previously, chronic allergic rhinitis, exposed to grain dust at his work in a feed store

Clinical Characteristics

Presented with hemoptysis, streaking of blood in the sputum associated with a minimal cough, occasional rhonchi over both bases, hematocrit reading was 43%, leukocyte count was 11,000/mm3, chest roentgenogram showed a lingular infiltrate with loss of volume

Remission Characteristics

Over the next month the patients hemoptysis and respiratory complaints resolved, and the productive cough decreased. Repeat bronchoscopic examination performed five weeks after the initial diagnosis revealed a remarkable resolution of the diffuse process

Treatment & Mechanisms

Proposed Remission Mechanisms

Not discussed

Clinical Treatment

Therapy with ampicillin (500 milligrams four times daily), bronchoscopic examination, biopsy of the bone marrow and rectal mucosa

Non-Clinical Treatment

Advised to remain off work indefinitely and to avoid exposure to grain dust or cigarette smoke

Additional Notes

The patient has continued to do well over a nine-month period