Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease (Mar 2019)

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia triggered by secondhand cigarette smoke exposure in an elderly man

  • Montserrat Diaz-Abad,
  • Laura Malone,
  • Liaqat Ali,
  • Edward M. Pickering,
  • Ashutosh Sachdeva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2019.985
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 89, no. 1

Abstract

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The spectrum of eosinophilic lung diseases comprises a diverse group of pulmonary disorders associated with tissue or peripheral eosinophilia. [Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP)] is an uncommon eosinophilic lung disease that can be idiopathic, but identifiable causes include medications, inhalational exposures and infections. Most cases in the literature are associated with first-time cigarette smoking or resuming smoking. Herein, we present a case of AEP in an elderly man triggered by exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, in whom a transbronchial biopsy was diagnostic. The patient recovered fully with glucocorticoid therapy without recurrence after avoiding further secondhand smoke.

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