ABSCESSING BRONCHIOLOECTASIA WITH ELEMENTS OF PLASMA-CELL GRANULOMA

A 79-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with the complaint of bloody sputum. Chest X-rav revealed an abnormal shadow in the right up per lobe. Macroscopically, the lesion measured about 3.5x2.5x2.0 cm wi th a central cavity containing pus. Histologically, the lesion was com posed of interlacing fibroblastic proliferation with abundant plasma c ell infiltration and central cavitation. The inner surface of the cavi ty wall was partially covered by bronchial epithelial cells; there was no cartilage found, suggesting that the lesion had developed from chr onic inflammatory processes in relation to ectatic bronchioles. Since the pathogenesis of plasma cell granuloma (PCG) has not been well esta blished, it is probable that this case represents one stage in the dev elopment of classic PCG.