title: Clinical characteristics and corticosteroid treatment of acute eosinophilic pneumonia.
abstract: The clinical characteristics and optimal duration of corticosteroid treatment for acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) have not been fully evaluated. This was a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from 137 patients with AEP, treated with standardised protocol, to clarify the clinical characteristics and compare the efficacies of 2 weeks versus 4 weeks of corticosteroid treatment for AEP. The majority of the patients altered their smoking habits within a median (interquartile range) of 17 (13-26) days prior to development of AEP. 80 (58%) patients presented with acute respiratory failure. A total of 127 (92%) patients were treated with corticosteroids: 4 weeks, n=42; 2 weeks, n=85. Major symptoms were resolved in 3 days and the severity of respiratory failure was inversely correlated with clinical outcomes. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics between the groups, the differences in adjusted mean (95% confidence interval) for resolution of dyspnoea and disappearance of all symptoms were 0.57 (-0.71-1.86) and -0.04 (-1.91-1.83) days, respectively. The difference in adjusted proportion of resolution of radiological abnormalities was 6.92% (-8.19-22.02). In conclusion, the duration of corticosteroid treatment could be shortened to 2 weeks, even in patients with respiratory failure.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chin Kook
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Kyung Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Nam Yeol
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Na Rae
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Man Pyo
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Kyeongman
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeon
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011657:Pulmonary Eosinophilia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones