A case of pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma associated with posterior uveitis

Abstract

A 48-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of abnormal pulmonary shadows and a decrease in visual acuity. He had a history of tuberculosis 20 years ago. The chest roentgenogram showed multiple pulmonary nodules throughout both lung fields. No definitive diagnosis was established either by brushing cytology or biopsy through bronchoscopy or percutaneous needle biopsy. Pathological examination of open lung biopsy specimen revealed that extensive, hyalinized lamellar collagen bundles arranged in whorls, parallel arrays. Plasma cells and lymphocytes were found between the collagen bands and germinal centers were seen at the periphery of the lesion. A definitive diagnosis of pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma was made on the basis of these histopathological findings. Although there is no established treatment for pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma, during 1 month of follow-up, posterior uveitis mildly resolved with glucocorticoid treatment and there had been a slight increase in visual acuity. © 2004 Tohoku University Medical Press.