Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia

Abstract Nine women presented an unusual and distinctive syndrome consisting of a chronic and ultimately life-threatening illness with high fever, night sweats, weight loss and severe dyspnea. Tuberculosis was the initial diagnosis in most cases, but the patients' condition deteriorated on chemotherapy. Asthma occurred for the first time with the onset of the illness in six patients, whereas three had neither asthma nor blood eosinophilia. The roentgenograms showed characteristic, rapidly progressive, dense pneumonic infiltrates arranged in a peculiar peripheral pattern best described as a photographic negative of the shadows seen in pulmonary edema. Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia was recognized from the consistent pathological pattern of the lung biopsies. Corticosteroid therapy caused complete clinical recovery and clearing of the roentgenograms within a few days. With premature reduction or omission of therapy symptoms recurred, and the infiltrates reappeared precisely in the same locations. Long-ter...