Peribronchial thickening could be due to the fibrosis around this region, might have spread from the interstitium, which might lead to the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, kindly check it up with your pulmonologist in this direction. Wish your husband a speedy recovery.
Hi hardyboyz,
Nice to talk to you.
"Peribronchial thickening" is goofy radiologist speak for a "narrowing" of the bronchial walls. This could be due to a multitude of things, any physician would first assume it is reactive airway from smoking cigarettes, but depending on his clinical symptoms it could also be an indication of something else, but not being his doctor I can't speculate too much about that. Atelectasis I believe means a partial collapse of the air sacs of the lungs, usually due to a restriction in airflow, but also from a multitude of causes. I hope this helps. A referral to a Pulmonologist might be necessary to sort this out. Also obviously with these changes in the lungs quitting smoking would be best regardless of the cause, and a Chest CT would give a picture of what the lungs look like in more detail.
Take care