Cocaine-induced pulmonary complications: A diagnosis of waiting and watching

Abstract

Pulmonary complications of cocaine among users are common. Manifestations include lung congestion, intra-alveolar edema, and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). Direct cellular toxicity, eosinophilia, barotrauma, and vasoactive effects of cocaine are believed to induce DAH. We present a rare case of cocaine-associated focal alveolar hemorrhage mimicking malignancy on imaging. Initially contemplated biopsy was avoided based on rapid growth of concerning lung lesion, with subsequent near resolution on follow-up. This case illustrates the importance of epidemiologic and temporal multimodality correlation when evaluating indeterminate lung lesions.

Keywords

• cocaine
• fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography
• focal alveolar hemorrhage
• lung injury
• unnecessary biopsy