[A patient with chronic pulmonary disease and histologically proven alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency]

The author depicted a patient with chronic pulmonary disease associated with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. The patient had suffered for a long time from chronic pulmonary disease, clinically diagnosed as bronchial asthma and he suddenly died with signs of chronic respiratory insufficiency. The basic pathological change in the lungs was chronic panacinar emphysema, with chronic inflammation, bronchiectasis and fibrosis. Numerous eosinophilic periodic acid Schiff stain-positive globules resistant to diastase digestion, most probably alpha-1-antitrypsin, were found in his liver, which was otherwise without special changes. The author concluded that among patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency should be taken into account. This can quite easily be demonstrated in liver biopsy specimens by the characteristics globules in the hepatocytes.