Possible eosinophilic pneumonia from Alternaria

Abstract

We reported a 15-year-old Japanese girl with possible eosinophilic pneumonia (EP) from inhaled Alternaria. She presented with a fever, cough and general fatigue and with a moderate infiltrate in the right lower to middle lung fields on a chest roentgenogram one week previously. On admission, the above infiltrate had disappeared, while a left upper infiltrate had appeared. Eosinophilic pneumonia (EP) was diagnosed by a cytological study of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histology of a transbronchial lung biopsy. Skin test to and specific serum IgE antibody against Alternaria were both positive. An inhaled Alternaria challenge test showed both immediate and late phase allergic reactions as evidenced by %FEV1. In addition, Alternaria was significantly detected in all places of the patient's house. Alternaria could be a causative organism of EP and should always be considered one of its etiologic agents.

Neumonía eosinofílica: presentación de dos casos, agudo y crónico.

“…Por ejemplo, se ha reportado el caso de un bombero que desarrolló NEA luego de trabajar en el rescate en el World Trade Center luego del atentado del 11-09-02, encontrándose partículas de silicatos, fibras de asbesto y cenizas (6). También se le ha relacionado con la inhalación de hongos del género Alternaria (7).…”