Incomplete metalloptysis linger pneumonia after a wedge resection of the lung for organizing pneumonia

• Main Authors: Sen‐Ei Shai, Yi‐Ling Lai, Hsiao‐Wen Tang, Shih‐Chieh Hung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020-10-01
• Series: Respirology Case Reports
• Subjects: Linger pneumonia; metalloptysis; organizing pneumonia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/rcr2.627

Abstract A 40‐year‐old man had considered himself to be robust, with the exception of an earlier diagnosis of hepatitis C. He underwent a wedge resection of the lung, at the left upper lobe (LUL), mimicking an anterior mediastinal tumor. A pathology report showed a 5 × 5 × 2.5 cm grey‐brown and yellowish lesion in a resected 9 × 6 × 3 cm of the lung, with a subsequent diagnosis of organizing pneumonia. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged while in a stable condition. One month later, he was admitted and given empiric antibiotic treatment for a lung abscess due to a compound symptom for three weeks after discharge. Although his symptom improved readily, a computed tomography (CT) of the chest disclosed a steady consolidation over the LUL. The fluctuation with haemoptysis and a productive cough spanned 11 months, until a bout of aggravated symptoms including foul and blood‐tinged sputum which mingled with an intermittent high fever became evident. The patient then underwent a bronchoscopy, which surprisingly revealed a metal material impacted over the orifice of the LUL bronchus, requiring biopsy forceps removal. The patient readily recovered with his symptoms thoroughly subsiding thereafter.