Simple pulmonary eosinophilia - Overview

Alternative Names

Pulmonary infiltrates with eosinophilia; Loeffler syndrome

Definition of Simple pulmonary eosinophilia:

Simple pulmonary eosinophilia is swelling (inflammation) of the lungs from an increase in eosinophils, a type of white blood cell.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Most cases of simple pulmonary eosinophilia are due to an allergic reaction from:

A drug, such as a sulfonamide antibiotic or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
Infection with a fungus such as Aspergillus fumigatus or Pneumocystis jirovecii
A parasite, including the roundworms Ascariasis lumbricoides, Necator americanus, or Ancylostoma duodenale (hookworms)

Lungs

Respiratory system

Reviewed last on: 6/2/2011
David C. Dugale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Denis Hadjuliadis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, Uniersity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Cottin V, Cordier JF. Eosinophilic lung diseases. In: Mason RJ, Broaddus VC, Martin TR, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 61.

McCarthy J, Nutrman TB. Parasitic lung infections. In: Mason RJ, Broaddus VC, Martin TR, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 37.

Raghu G. Interstitial lung disease. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 92.

Pneumonia

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Simple pulmonary eosinophilia - Overview

Alternative Names

Definition of Simple pulmonary eosinophilia:

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

References

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