No abstract

We describe the first known Japanese patient with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia caused by Schizophyllum commune. The patient presented to Social Insurance Tagawa Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan with cough, wheezing, dyspnoea, and fever. Computed tomograms of the chest showed bilateral areas of consolidation with air bronchograms as well as interstitial infiltrates in the upper lobe, without ectasia of proximal bronchi. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy revealed no impacted mucus in the bronchi. BAL fluid from the right upper lobe yielded an increased total cell count with a high percentage of eosinophils. A transbronchial lung biopsy specimen showed a bronchoalveolar chronic inflammatory infiltrate composed of eosinophils, lymphocytes and plasma cells, associated with fibrosis of the alveolar walls. S. commune was identified in lavage fluid. Antibodies to this organism were present in the serum, confirming that S. commune was the cause of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. Inhaled corticosteroids without accompanying oral corticosteroids or antifungal agents decreased the respiratory symptoms, and the infiltrates disappeared from the chest radiograph within a few days

No abstract

This phase II study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of irinotecan (CPT-11) and ifosfamide as second-line chemotherapy for relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Eligibility criteria included histologically or cytologically confirmed SCLC, prior chemotherapy including platinum + etoposide, and measurable or evaluable disease. CPT-11 (80 mg/m²) was administered intravenously on days 1, 8 and 15, while ifosfamide (1.5 g/m²) was given on days 1 through 3 every 4 weeks. Thirty-four patients (29 men) with a median age of 69 years (range 42–77) and a median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 1 (range 0–2) were enrolled. The response rate was 52.9% (95% confidence interval: 29.8–64.9%) with 2 complete responses and 16 partial responses. Our analyses of prognostic factors showed risk factors assessed before receiving second-line chemotherapy, which were the number of metastatic sites, performance status and the type of relapse. WHO grade 3–4 neutropenia was recorded in 52.9% of the patients, grade 3 diarrhea in 5.9%. The combination of CPT-11 and ifosfamide demonstrated clinical efficacy in relapsed SCLC with a favorable toxicity profile, particularly for performance status 0–1 and sensitive cases with only one metastatic site.

A fatal case of idiopathic eosinophilic pneumonia with acute lung injury is described. The patient required treatment with mechanical ventilation and intravenous corticosteroids, however, she died on the third hospital day. At autopsy, both exudative and proliferative phases of diffuse alveolar damage were observed bilaterally. Marked eosinophilic infiltrate was noted in the alveolar wall and within the alveolar cavities with occasional abscess-like features. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fatal acute eosinophilic pneumonia, and provides important information for the management of this condition.