- With Mayo Clinic emeritus internist
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Dr. Edward Rosenow III sees a natural link between the Information Age and health care as a way to promote better health. Dr. Rosenow, a Columbus, Ohio, native, is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease and worked in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He retired from clinical practice in 1996 after 30 years' service at Mayo Clinic.
"It has always been my feeling that the better informed the patient is about his or her body and its functions, the better the patient-physician partnership," he says. "The informed patient is in turn more compliant with the physician's recommendations and better able to make intelligent decisions about health care needs."
Dr. Rosenow is a former Arthur M. and Gladys D. Gray Professor of Medicine and former chair of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic. He was also president of the American College of Chest Physicians, consultant to NASA on the Space Station Freedom project, president of the Mayo Clinic staff, a regent with the American College of Chest Physicians and program director of the internal medicine residency program at Mayo Clinic.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Rosenow was a five-time Teacher of the Year in internal medicine and inducted into the Mayo Fellows Hall of Fame of Outstanding Teachers.
In 1994, he won the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award from Mayo Clinic staff and in 1995 was honored with the Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award for Lifetime Dedication to Patient Care by the American College of Physicians. He was named to a mastership by the American College of Physicians in 1998 and that year also won the Mayo Foundation Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is also a Master Fellow in the American College of Chest Physicians. In 2008, a professorship was established in his name — the Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D., Mayo Professorship in the Art of Medicine.
Dr. Rosenow has contributed to 156 publications, including 48 book chapters and one co-authored book.
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Question
Bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP)
What can you tell me about bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia?
Answer
from Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is inflammation of the small airways (bronchioles) and surrounding tissue in the lung. It can affect a small segment of the lung or the entire lung. Bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia isn't associated with infection or lung cancer.
The term "obliterans" refers to inflammation of the bronchioles, which partially destroys (obliterates) the small airways. The term "pneumonia" refers to inflammation of the lung tissue around the bronchioles — but not due to infection with an organism. A more accurate term to describe this inflammation would be "pneumonitis" — which means inflammation — but "pneumonia" is the term that has stuck.
In many cases, the cause of BOOP can't be determined (idiopathic). But known causes include:
- Certain medications
- Radiation therapy for breast cancer
- Bone marrow transplants
- Certain connective tissue disorders, such as lupus
In some people, bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia causes no signs or symptoms. It may be found incidentally on a chest X-ray done for some other reason. In others, it may cause shortness of breath and fever. These signs and symptoms usually progress over several weeks. On the chest X-ray, the BOOP may be well localized to one area, or it may involve both lungs extensively.
This condition is difficult to diagnose. A doctor may make a diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia based on:
- Personal medical history
- High-resolution computerized tomography (CT) scan of the lungs
- Removal of lung tissue (biopsy) for examination under a microscope
Treatment depends on the underlying cause but may include a steroid medication such as prednisone.
