title: Clinical Characteristics and Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia in Korean Military Personnel.
abstract: Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is an uncommon inflammatory lung disease, and limited data exist concerning the clinical characteristics and factors that influence its occurrence. We retrospectively reviewed the records of AEP patients treated at Korean military hospitals between January 2007 and December 2013. In total, 333 patients were identified; their median age was 22 years, and all were men. All patients presented with acute respiratory symptoms (cough, sputum, dyspnea, or fever) and had elevated levels of inflammatory markers including median values of 13,185/µL for white blood cell count and 9.51 mg/dL for C-reactive protein. All patients showed diffuse ground glass opacity/consolidation, and most had pleural effusion (n = 265; 80%) or interlobular septal thickening (n = 265; 85%) on chest computed tomography. Most patients had normal body mass index (n = 255; 77%), and only 30 (9%) patients had underlying diseases including rhinitis, asthma, or atopic dermatitis. Most patients had recently changed smoking habits (n = 288; 87%) and were Army personnel (n = 297; 89%).The AEP incidence was higher in the Army group compared to the Navy or Air Force group for every year (P = 0.002). Both the number of patients and patients with high illness severity (oxygen requirement, intensive care unit admission, and pneumonia severity score class ≥ III) tended to increase as seasonal temperatures rose. We describe the clinical characteristics of AEP and demonstrate that AEP patients have recently changed smoking habits and work for the Army. There is an increasing tendency in the numbers of patients and those with higher AEP severity with rising seasonal temperatures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang-gyo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1543-4659
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Jin
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7504-812X
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3935-7619
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Woo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6348-8731
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Jhun
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D044466:Asian People; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011657:Pulmonary Eosinophilia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Army; Clinical Characteristics; Demography; Factors; Pulmonary Eosinophilia; Seasonal
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