Rituximab Therapy in Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis: A Rare Case Report
Published: April 1, 2018 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2018/32371.11419
Fatemeh Aghaei Meybodi, Salar Khazani Fard, Mojtaba Babaei Zarch, Mostafa Babai
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
2. Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
3. Medical Student, Student Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
4. Resident, Department of Radiology, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Correspondence
Mr. Mojtaba Babaei Zarch,
Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Ebne-sina Street, Yazd, Iran.
E-mail: mojtaba.babaei72@yahoo.com
Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disorder characterised by accumulation of surfactant in alveoli due to impaired surfactant clearance. Although, whole lung lavage is the standard treatment of PAP, rituximab has also been introduced as a therapeutic option for PAP. A 49-year-old female patient, a known case of PAP, came to the outpatient clinic complaining of exacerbation of dyspnoea. The patient was treated with rituximab four times in a year. Finally, the clinical status and spirometry tests showed improvement. Although, the main treatment for PAP is whole lung lavage, other therapeutic options may be useful too. According to the prior case reports and the present one, rituximab can be useful in treatment of PAP.
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