A 65-Year-Old Man With Persistent Cough and Large Nodular Opacity

A 65-year-old Asian man with a history of chronic hepatitis B infection presented to our pulmonary clinic for second opinion of his chronic, persistent, nonproductive cough. He was evaluated 10 months earlier with chest CT scan, which revealed a large lingular nodular opacity that was diagnosed as nodular cryptogenic organizing pneumonia by CT scan-guided percutaneous lung biopsy. Systemic corticosteroids were initiated and continued over the next 10 months. The dry cough persisted, and he developed intermittent left-sided pleuritic chest pain. He denied fevers, night sweats, hemoptysis, weight loss, or dyspnea. He was a lifelong nonsmoker and moved to the United States from China during childhood.