Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis in childhood: diagnosis by transbronchial biopsy

Pediatr Pulmonol. 1996 Jan;21(1):62-4. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0496(199601)21:1<62::AID-PPUL11>3.0.CO;2-B.

Abstract

A 7-year-old girl of Arabic origin by consanguineous parents presented with a miliary pattern on chest x-ray. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed a histological diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis, a condition rarely described in childhood. This report highlights the clinical and radiological features, documents the transbronchial lung biopsy as a useful diagnostic procedure, and suggests a possible genetic etiology with autosomal recessive inheritance.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / cytology
  • Bronchoscopy
  • Calculi / diagnostic imaging
  • Calculi / pathology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Lung Diseases / pathology*
  • Pulmonary Alveoli*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed