BRONCHIECTASIS DUE TO LIPID ASPIRATION IN CHILDHOOD - CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CORRELATES

We report the clinical and pathological features in six Arab children with bronchiectasis caused by ghee lipid aspiration. They all had a hi story of ghee administration followed by a history of chronic cough da ting from early childhood. Chest radiographs showed consolidation/coll apse of the right middle and left lower lobes in the majority, and bro nchography and chest CT scan confirmed bronchiectasis. The children we re treated medically, without any improvement, and five required surge ry. The histology of the lung revealed dilated bronchi filled with vac uolated granular eosinophilic material and the peripheral lung tissue was mostly atelectatic with patchy lymphocytic bronchiolitis. Frozen s ections of the lung tissue showed scattered lipogranulomas with fat-la den macrophages and fat droplets within peripheral and perivascular ly mphatics. In communities where the traditional practice of force-feedi ng infants and children with ghee exists, it may be an important predi sposing cause of bronchiectasis.