title: [Pneumonia, when sound waves mix things up].
abstract: A 29-year old man is admitted in our hospital for a dry cough which appeared a few weeks earlier and is now associated with a breath depending thoracic pain. As an engineer, he is realizing a thesis about the sound waves produced by coughing and is therefore frequently exposed to patients with various pulmonary infections. The chest X-ray, presents predominant pulmonary infiltrates on the periphery of the upper fields of the lungs. Blood analysis revealed a hypereosinophilia of 4.650/microl. The various bacteriological, parasitic and viral investigation tests are negative. The bronchioalveolar washing reveals more than 50% eosinophils. Exclusive pulmonary impairment and lack of autoantibody moved us to the diagnosis of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (or Carrington syndrome). Corticosteroids were started at the dosis of 0,5 mg/kg of methyl-prednisolone. Clinical and biological features improved amazingly within 48 hours. This case report illustrates the overlap between the chronic eosinophilic pneumonia and the Churg-Strauss desease who can be considered as variants of the hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). Therefore, the use of anti-interleukin-5 antibodies, already used in the SHE and Churg-Strauss syndrome, might be useful in this case.
authors.affiliation: Département de Médecine Interne, H.I.S., Site Etterbeek-lxelles, Bruxelles. cwachter@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wachters
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hildebrand
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D015267:Churg-Strauss Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D003371:Cough / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D017681:Hypereosinophilic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D011657:Pulmonary Eosinophilia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013016:Sound / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones