[The changes in serum cold hemagglutinin titer in the clinical progress of diffuse panbronchiolitis]

Since the first description of Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) was published, the elevation of serum cold hemagglutinin (CHA) titer in patients with DPB has been reported, but the mechanism of its elevation is not yet clear. We investigated the relationship between the CHA titer and the indexes of inflammation (CRP, ESR, WBC, alpha 2-gl, gamma-gl), immunoglobulin, bacterial species cultured from sputum in 24 cases with DPB. They were diagnosed clinically as DPB by the criteria of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. We found no correlation between CHA titer and CRP, ESR, WBC, alpha 2-gl, gamma-gl, but there were significant correlations between the change of CHA titer and IgA, IgM. Additionally, CHA titers which were measured when Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured from sputum in patients with DPB were markedly high levels. These results suggest that the elevation of CHA titer does not reflect the degree of inflammations, and it occurs by immunological abnormalities.