title: Non-specific interstitial pneumonia as the initial presentation of biphenotypic acute leukemia: a case report.
abstract: Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia has been linked to numerous etiologies including, most recently, haematologic malignancy. We present a 46-year-old woman with recent-onset rheumatologic illness who developed pulmonary symptoms as the presenting feature of biphenotypic acute leukaemia. Chest radiology demonstrated bilateral infiltrates, and lung biopsy revealed nonspecific interstitial pneumonia. Corticosteroid therapy resulted in resolution of both her pulmonary and rheumatologic symptoms, and her pulmonary symptoms did not recur following treatment of her leukemia. The case highlights the importance of searching for an underlying etiology when confronted with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, 1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. amohan@cha.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Arun V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: Venktesh R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Ramnath
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Patalas
authors.forename: Eyal C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Attar