Upon pulmonary examination, bilateral breath sounds
were audible with a few expiratory wheezes at the
lung bases; there were no rales. Chest x-rays revealed
very prominent bronchial markings consistent with
chronic bronchitis and possibly bronchiectasis; no
acute infiltrates were identified. Pulmonary function
tests (Table 1) indicated a markedly increased residual
volume, slightly elevated total lung capacity, and
moderately decreased transport factor (diffusion
capacity).10