Asthma, tuberculosis or eosinophilic pneumonia?

Abstract

A 45 year-old male presented with cough and expectoration for 8 months, short-ness of breath and wheeze for 3 months, and fever for 1 month. He remained symptomatic despite repeated courses of antibiotics with partial relief on oral and inhaled bronchodilators. Despite several sputum examinations being negative for acid fast bacilli (AFB), he was put on anti-tubercular drugs (ATD) because of bi-lateral infiltrates on his chest radiographs. A mildly raised blood eosinophil count, eosinophilia in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and eosinophilic infiltration on CT guided FNAC from his lung lesion raised the suspicion and the dramatic clinico-radiological improvement with oral corticosteroids clinched the diagnosis of CEP.

Keywords

• Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia
• Blood Eosinophilia
• Eosinophilic Lung Disease