Bronchiolitis Obliterans – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments!
Bronchiolitis Obliterans – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments that we should not ignore. In addition, bronchiolitis obliterans is a serious and irreversible lung disease that causes inflammation and blockage of the smallest airways in the lungs: the bronchioles. It is also known as bronchiolitis obliterative , and its symptoms can closely resemble the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Bronchiolitis obliterans became better known in 2000, when Missouri health officials asked the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help them investigate cases in former workers at Jasper’s microwave popcorn plant, Mo.
Ultimately, health officials tracked the outbreak of inhaled diacetyl, the chemical that gives microwave popcorn its buttery flavor. From these cases, bronchiolitis obliterans earned the nickname “popcorn lung.
In 2015, the CDC also identified workers at a coffee processing plant suffering from bronchiolitis obliterans. There, the cause appears to be volatile organic compounds released by large amounts of coffee beans when they are wet.
Causes of Bronchiolitis Obliterans: In some people, it is not clear what causes bronchiolitis obliterans. However, several possible causes have been identified. These include:
- Inhalation of toxic fumes;
- Respiratory infections ;
- Connective tissue disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis;
- Reaction to certain medications;
The condition also develops in some people after a bone marrow, lung, or heart and lung transplant. One study found that about 10% of people who received a bone marrow transplant from a donor developed bronchiolitis obliterans within five years of the transplant, while other researchers note that 50% of lung transplant recipients develop the condition within five years. .
Symptoms of Bronchiolitis Obliterans : While it can take years for symptoms of the disease to appear after a transplant, the following symptoms (which closely mimic COPD) can appear within two to eight weeks after exposure to toxic fumes or after a lung infection :
Treatment for Bronchiolitis Obliterans: Like COPD, bronchiolitis obliterans is irreversible. The following treatment, however, can help slow its progression:
- Rapid removal of irritant toxin exposure (if an inhaled toxin is the cause of illness);
- Medications, including corticosteroids and drugs that reduce the body’s immune response (immunosuppressants);
- Lung transplantation;
As bronchiolitis obliterans can be fatal if left untreated, early intervention is critical to successful treatment of the disease.
Bronchiolitis obliterans is not the same condition as bronchiolitis obliterans that organizes pneumonia, despite the similar names. Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia is a rare form of non-infectious pneumonia that causes extensive inflammation in the bronchioles of the lungs.