Histologic Findings of Severe/Therapy-Resistant Asthma From Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Biopsies

Am J Surg Pathol. 2017 Feb;41(2):182-188. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000000777.

Abstract

The histologic changes occurring in severe/therapy-resistant asthma (SA) as defined by the European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guidelines, particularly at the level of the distal airways are unknown. This study describes the clinical, radiologic, and histologic characteristics of 29 SA patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lung biopsy. Pathologic observations were correlated with clinical features, especially the presence of autoimmune disease (AID) (15/29, 51.7%). Ten biopsies (10/29, 34.5%) showed only small airway manifestations of asthma, whereas in 19 (65.5%) asthmatic granulomatosis, manifested by asthmatic bronchiolitis supplemented by an alveolar septal mononuclear infiltrates with non-necrotizing granulomas, was present. SA patients without asthmatic granulomatosis showed more striking small airway injury, subbasement membrane thickening, and neutrophilic infiltrates. Cases with concurrent AID had a tendency to more parenchymal eosinophilic inflammation, more bronchiolocentric granulomas, and a suggestion of increased responsivity to nonsteroidal immunosuppressive therapy. Histologic examination of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lung biopsies in SA demonstrates diverse pathologies including cases associated with granulomatous inflammation in addition to eosinophilic infiltrates. This spectrum of histologies may link to a high incidence of AID.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Asthma / complications
  • Asthma / pathology*
  • Autoimmune Diseases / complications*
  • Autoimmune Diseases / epidemiology
  • Biopsy
  • Bronchioles / pathology*
  • Drug Resistance
  • Female
  • Granuloma / epidemiology
  • Granuloma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted