Pulmonary involvement in inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a systemic illness that may involve the lung. The most frequent manifestation is bronchial inflammation and suppuration with or without bronchiectasis. Bronchoalveolar lavage data show an increase percentage of neutrophils and steroids are very effective in the majority of cases. Some patients present severe tracheal inflammation and obstruction with an inflammatory mass bulging into the tracheal lumen. Others show a small airway involvement with or without bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia pattern and have an equivocal response to steroids. In recent years many investigators demonstrated latent pulmonary involvement with a reduction in lung transfer factor and a small airways disorders.