A 55-year-old woman presented with a 9-month history of respiratory symptoms , including dyspnea on exertion, thoracic pain and dry cough, followed by a pulmonary infection. She was a smoker . Only mild impairment of vital capacity (VC) but a severely reduced diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (CO) was reported by the pulmonary function tests (PFTs).
A chest multi-slice high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan was performed, which showed 1) apical, paraseptal emphysema; 2) reticular abnormalities and honeycombing with traction bronchiectasis (predominantly in the subpleural and basal regions), and 3) extensive ground-glass opacities. According to the current guidelines, due to the ground-glass opacities, a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) could not be made. Due to severe functional impairments, the patient could not undergo a surgical lung biopsy.…
