Acellular bodies in sputum

From 70 patients 68.3 +/- 10.1 years of age, 260 sputum specimens containing various acellular bodies were evaluated. This corresponded to 1% of all sputum specimens examined. The round to oval bodies were mostly concentrically structured and displayed different, partly amorphous, partly crystalline components. The periodic acid-Schiff stain was usually positive in these smears, 52% of which contained birefringent bodies. The average diameter was 25 +/- 10.9 micron. While intersample and intrasample frequencies of such bodies were extremely variable, a correlation with an increased number of Curschmann spirals and the degree of inflammation was observed (P less than 0.02). There was a correlation with neither sex, smoking habits nor most types of cancer. A positive correlation existed with chronic obstructive bronchitis, cor pulmonale, obstructive pulmonary diseases and one case of adenocarcinoma of the lung. This finding was confirmed by eight of ten new cases. The formation of the bodies can be intraalveolar, comparable to microliths, in the bronchial glands, corresponding to sialiths, and by intrabronchial mucus condensation, eventually around structures serving as cores. Changing frequencies in repeat investigations demonstrated a presumably rapid formation.