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Case Report
 
Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis
Anita Flynn1, Anuradha D Agastyaraju2
1MD, Dr. Anita Flynn, Consultant Pathologist, Department of Pathology, St. Martha's Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
2MD, Agastyaraju D Anuradha, Senior Registrar, Department of Pathology, St. Martha's Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

doi:10.5348/ijcri-2013-02-272-CR-6

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Dr. Anita Flynn
C-103, Chartered Coronet Apt, MICO layout, Arekere
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore- 560076
Karnataka
India
Phone: +91 9845354053
Email: anitaflynn_cmc@yahoo.com

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How to cite this article:
Flynn A, Agastyaraju AD. Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis. International Journal of Case Reports and Images 2013;4(2):108–110.


Abstract
Introduction: Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is an important cause of diffuse parenchymal lung disease and is characterised by calculospherites in the alveolar spaces. Usually occurring in the 4th to 6th decade. Sex distribution is roughly equal. Clinical course is progressive and fatal. About 300 cases of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis have been reported in literature.
Case Report: Here we report a case of a 56-year-old male who presented with progressively increasing breathlessness. Imaging revealed characteristic "sandstorm" appearance on X-ray. A transbronchial lung biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis.
Conclusion: The etiology of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is unknown and there is no definite medical treatment. Hence, therapy is mostly empirical.

Keywords: Breathlessness, Alveoli, Calculospherites


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Author Contributions
Anita Flynn – Conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Critical revision of the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Agastyaraju D Anuradha – Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of submission
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of support
None
Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright
© Anita Flynn et al. 2013; This article is distributed the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any means provided the original authors and original publisher are properly credited. (Please see Copyright Policy for more information.)