Desquamative interstitial pneumonia: a case report

Desquamative interstitial pneumonia is one of the rarest idiopathic interstitial pneumonias and the rarest form of smoking-related interstitial lung diseases. It was first described by Liebow in 1965. Histologically, it is characterized by the presence of eosinophilic macrophages uniformly filling airspaces which often contain a finely granular light-brown pigment that does not stain for hemosiderin. The alveolar walls are usually mildly thickened by fibrous tissue and infiltrated by a moderate number of lymphocytes.

Our patient was a 56-year-old male, heavy smoker, with bilateral lung infiltrations of unknown etiology and several months of discomfort in the form of dry cough and shortness of breath. Lung function tests showed a moderate restrictive ventilation disorder and a severe reduction of diffusing capacity. Since bronchoscopic specimens did not reveal lung lesion etiology, an open lung biopsy of the lower left pulmonary lobe was performed, and based on the obtained surgical material the pathohistologically diagnosis of desquamative interstitial pneumonia was established. The patient was started on corticosteroid and immunosuppressive therapy, and he ceased smoking. At the last control examination, two years after the onset of symptoms, the patient was feeling well, and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan of the thorax showed regression of pathological changes.

Although, as in our case, the majority of DIP patients improve on treatment, some patients still develop progressive irreversible fibrosis despite therapy.