A 21-Year-Old Man With Dyspnea, Wheezing, and Cough

Chest. 2022 Jan;161(1):e13-e17. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.08.044.

Abstract

A 21-year-old male college student presented for a second opinion with low alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) levels and complaints of episodic dyspnea with wheezing and cough. He was a never smoker with a medical history of frequent respiratory tract infections in early childhood and allergy to dander, dust mites, peanuts, and eggs. There was no travel history outside of the continental United States. His mother had asthma. His symptoms were not controlled on inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators. His AAT genotype was found to be PI∗SZ, and augmentation therapy (with pooled human-plasma derived AAT) was recommended locally.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Asthmatic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use
  • Asthma / diagnosis*
  • Asthma / drug therapy
  • Asthma / physiopathology
  • Cough / physiopathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Dyspnea / physiopathology
  • Forced Expiratory Volume
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity
  • Residual Volume
  • Respiratory Function Tests
  • Respiratory Sounds / physiopathology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Total Lung Capacity
  • Vital Capacity
  • Young Adult
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin / genetics
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin / metabolism
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin / therapeutic use
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency / diagnosis*
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency / drug therapy

Substances

  • Anti-Asthmatic Agents
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • SERPINA1 protein, human
  • alpha 1-Antitrypsin
  • benralizumab