Chest
-
Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is an uncommon disease, often indistinguishable from ARDS or community-acquired pneumonia at initial presentation. AEP can be idiopathic, but identifiable causes include medications and inhalational exposures, including cigarette smoke. ⋯ AEP is associated with a good prognosis when recognized and treated promptly. Compared with medication-related and idiopathic AEP, smoking-related AEP was less likely to be associated with peripheral eosinophilia at presentation but was characterized by more severe disease manifestations.
-
A 54-year-old African-American man presented with 2 years of progressively worsening dyspnea and anasarca. Over the past 6 months he gained 30 lbs with worsening lower extremity, abdominal wall, and scrotal edema. ⋯ He reported a 15-pack year history of smoking and quit 3 years ago. Chest radiograph at that time revealed bilateral pleural effusions that were both reportedly milky in appearance when drained by thoracenteses.
-
A 58-year-old man with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, who had received a right-sided single-lung transplant 2 years earlier, was referred to the sleep clinic for the assessment of nocturnal position-dependent episodes of dyspnea and frequent arousals when lying on his right side. There was no subjective worsening of daytime respiratory symptoms, but he complained of fatigue and unrefreshing sleep. ⋯ After lung transplantation he had a favorable course while receiving immunosuppression with prednisolone, everolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. In addition, he had received diagnoses of stable coronary artery disease and moderate chronic kidney failure.