A Case of Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis that Improved after a COVID-19 Episode

Atsushi Yanagisawa; Takayuki Takimoto; Ryota Shintani; Takehiko Kobayashi; Masaki Hirose; Toru Arai; Yoshikazu Inoue

doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.1592-23

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

A Case of Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis that Improved after a COVID-19 Episode

Atsushi Yanagisawa, Takayuki Takimoto, Ryota Shintani, Takehiko Kobayashi, Masaki Hirose, Toru Arai, Yoshikazu Inoue

Author information

Keywords: pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), viral infection, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS Advance online publication

Article ID: 1592-23

DOI https://doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.1592-23

The final version of this article is now available: Vol. 62 (2023), No. 15 pp. 2237-2241

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Abstract

Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (APAP) is caused by macrophage dysfunction owing to the presence of anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) autoantibodies. A 77-year-old man with APAP was referred to our hospital for whole-lung lavage (WLL) due to oxygenation exacerbation and pulmonary shadows. The patient had had coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the APAP evaluation before WLL. About three months after COVID-19 resolved, his oxygenation and shadow reflecting APAP had obviously improved, thus avoiding the need for WLL. We suspected that the improvement in APAP was due to various immunological reactions induced by COVID-19.

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