title: [A case of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune hemolytic anemia].
abstract: A 71-year-old man noticed that he was producing brown urine in November 2007, and he also experienced dyspnea on exertion, a nonproductive cough and a pruritic eruption on his extremities and trunk in December 2007. He was admitted with suspected interstitial pneumonia (IP). IP was diagnosed based on the findings of blood tests, chest X-rays, computed tomography, bronchoalveolar lavage, and a transbronchial lung biopsy. His hemoglobin (Hb) level was low (6.4 g/dL), and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) was diagnosed based on the presence of reticulocytosis (187%), a low level of haptoglobin (< 10 mg/dL), and positive direct and indirect Coombs tests. His symptoms improved after receiving corticosteroid therapy. To the best of our knowledge there are only 15 reported cases of patients demonstrating the occurrence of these 2 diseases together. Most patients who develop AIHA first have a favorable prognosis, while those who develop IP first tend to have a poor prognosis. The current patient had increased levels of serum IgG, IgA and immunocomplexes. These findings suggest that IgG, IgA and immunocomplexes were associated with the comorbid IP and AIHA.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Medicine, Kansai Electric Power Hospital.
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Daijiro
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nabeya
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000744:Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male