Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia: Imaging features, pathologic correlation, and brief literature review^✰

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Histopathology
• Radiology

Background:

• Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is a lung injury pattern.
• It is characterized by intra-alveolar fibrin deposits, often described as "balls."

Observation:

• Two cases of AFOP in patients with no significant medical history are presented.
• Patients exhibited cough and worsening dyspnea.
• Disease progression was rapid, leading to diffuse lung abnormalities on CT scans.

Findings:

• AFOP can manifest with a fulminant clinical course.
• Chest computed tomography revealed diffuse parenchymal abnormalities.

Implications:

• This rare histologic pattern should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute respiratory failure.
• It expands the understanding of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias.