PULMONARY ALVEOLAR PROTEINOSIS: A CASE STUDY

One of the rare diseases encountered in pulmonology practice is pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Due to its highly variable clinical presentation, diagnosing the disease poses significant challenges. The objective of this study was to analyze clinical cases of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis diagnostics. We present clinical cases of patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and describe the difficulties encountered in diagnosing this pathology. In the first clinical case, the diagnosis was established after six months, and in the second case after five years from the initial appearance of radiographic changes. All patients required computed tomography of the chest, bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy with biopsy, and morphological evaluation of the biopsy specimens. Conclusions. Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is a condition that is challenging to diagnose. It is noted, that specific radiological patterns typical of this particular pathology are difficult to identify, and the clinical picture is non-specific as well.