Hiperplasia de células neuroendocrinas y tumorlets carcinoides pulmonares en paciente con obstrucción del flujo aéreo

A case is presented of a 41 year old woman with a 3 year history of a dry cough and wheezing. Forced Vital Capacity and FEV1 are reduced using bronchodilators, but with no significant improvement. A CAT scan of the thorax is carried out to investigate the discrepancy between the patient's symptoms and the radiological image. Multiple small nodules are seen, the biopsy of which revealed neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia, multiple carcinoid tumourlets and involvement of the bronchial lumen. The importance of both morphological and functional evaluation of the respiratory tract in the presence of neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia/carcinoid tumourlets is stressed.