[Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia. Clinical and evolutive features]

A series is here reported of eleven patients with the histological diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans with organized pneumonia (BOOP) and the clinical course after one year of corticosteroid therapy. Four patients had idiopathic BOOP, one patient BOOP secondary to bone marrow transplantation and the other six patients had BOOP secondary to inhalation of toxic substances (Ardystil syndrome). The most common radiological feature at the onset of the disease was the presence of bilateral patchy infiltrates; the most common functional finding was a decreased diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide. After one year of follow-up, seven out of the ten patients still alive had a normal radiology and all showed a significant improvement in ventilatory and gasometric parameters.