Lung-nontumor - Intravenous drug abusers

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Lung-nontumor

Other non-neoplastic disease

Intravenous drug abusers

Reviewers: Elliot Weisenberg, M.D. (see Reviewers page)
Revised: 19 December 2011, last major update December 2011
Copyright: (c) 2003-2011, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

Clinical features
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● Often incidental findings at autopsy or biopsy
● Lesions due to injection of insoluble fillers of oral mediation, which lodge in small pulmonary arteries; may include crospovidone, talc, cornstarch or microcrystalline cellulose with characteristic findings
● All but cornstarch persist indefinitely
● Patients may have dyspnea or hypoxia; due to related infection, pulmonary edema, diffuse alveolar damage, vasculopathy leading to pulmonary hypertension or interstitial fibrosis
● Chest Xray usually shows a micronodular pattern

Micro description
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● Fresh or organizing arterial thrombi with foreign material
● Perivascular foreign-body granulomas contain birefringent foreign material resembling starch, talc or other materials
● May be associated with acute vasculitis, interstitial inflammation and fibrosis

Micro images
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Polarized light

End of Lung-nontumor > Other non-neoplastic disease > Intravenous drug abusers

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