A rare case of diffuse pulmonary ossification.

A 45 year-old male patient presented to our clinic with chronic dyspnoea on exertion. He had no cough, fever or weight loss. He smoked tobacco for 2 months 25 years ago and had no significant occupational exposure. He had a chest radiograph 20 years ago following an episode of bronchitis, which reportedly showed “calcification of the lungs”. Chest auscultation revealed fine bibasilar crackles. He underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest, which showed diffuse calcified nodular lesions (figure 1a–c). Laboratory workup revealed normal calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels. He underwent a lung biopsy by video-assisted thoracoscopy, which confirmed the presence of intraparenchymal bone tissue and fibrosis (figure 1d). A diagnosis of pulmonary ossification was made. A repeat CT scan of the chest, 1 year later, showed no progression of the disease.