Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia

The histologic pattern of Acute Fibrinous and Organizing Pneumonia (AFOP), described by Beasley in 2002, is characterized by the existence of intra alveolar fibrin in the form of fibrin "balls" and diffuse organizing pneumonia. Presenting symptoms of this interstitial pulmonary disease can be acute or subacute. However, it differs from the well-recognized histologic patterns of acute pulmonary lesion - Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD), Organizing Pneumonia (OP) and Eosinophilic Pneumonia (EP). The authors carry out a review of the literature concerning this topic and describe the clinical case of a 44-year-old patient with unusual imaging features and outcome.