Small airways disease in an Operation Desert Storm Deployer: Case report and review of the literature on respiratory health and inhalational exposures from Gulf War I

摘要

Constrictive Bronchiolitis (CB) has been reported in US Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) deployers but not in those from prior US conflicts. A 62‐year old presented with progressive dyspnea 13 years after deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1991‐1992, where he was exposed to burning oil well fire emissions, dust storms, and other potential airborne hazards. In 2014, after a chest computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated diffuse mosaic attenuation, he underwent surgical lung biopsy, which revealed CB. Deployers from both GWI and OIF/OEF share many exposures. As respiratory symptoms are a feature associated with Gulf War medically unexplained illness, there may be a role for renewed interest in evaluating GWI Veterans with unexplained respiratory symptoms for conditions such as CB, which may result from exposures relevant to deployers from both conflicts.