Neumonía eosinofílica en pediatría, a propósito de dos casos clínicos / Pneumonia eosinofilic in pediatrics, clinical cases

INTRODUCCIÓN: La Neumonía Eosinofílica (NE) es una entidad muy poco frecuente en pediatría y se caracteriza por infiltración de eosinófilos en el intersticio pulmonar y alveolar, pudiendo ser primaria o secundaria, así como también presentar un curso agudo o crónico. OBJETIVO: Presentar dos casos clínicos de NE diagnosticados en el período 2014-2017 en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos pediátricos. CASOS CLÍNICOS: Dos lactantes mayores, ambos con antecedente de madre asmática, hospitalizados por in suficiencia respiratoria y diagnóstico de neumonía viral en Clínica Indisa, Santiago, Chile. Ambos presentaron síndrome febril, imágenes de condensación persistentes en la radiografía de tórax y eosinofilia periférica en el transcurso de su enfermedad. Uno de ellos con requerimiento de oxígeno por más de un mes, sin eosinofilia en el lavado broncoalveolar (LBA), al que se le hizo el diagnóstico de NE por biopsia pulmonar. El otro niño requirió ventilación mecánica por 28 días y se hizo diag nóstico de NE por eosinofilia mayor a 20% en LBA. Los dos casos presentaron excelente respuesta a corticoides sistémicos. CONCLUSIÓN: La NE se debe sospechar en el niño con diagnóstico de neumonía con síntomas persistentes sin respuesta al tratamiento, habiéndose descartado otras causas, sobre todo si se asocia a eosinofilia periférica. El diagnostico de NE en pediatría se confirma por eosinofilia mayor a 20% en LBA y en algunos casos es necesaria la biopsia pulmonar.

INTRODUCTION: Eosinophilic Pneumonia (EP) is a very rare disorder in Pediatrics. It is characterized by the infiltra tion of eosinophils in the pulmonary and alveolar interstitium, and may be primary or secondary as well as present an acute or chronic progress. OBJECTIVE: to present 2 pediatric EP clinical cases which were diagnosed at the pediatric intensive care unit of Clinica Indisa in Santiago, Chile between 2014 and 2017. CLINICAL CASES: Two older infants, who were hospitalized due to respiratory failure with a diagnosis of viral pneumonia. Both have asthmatic mothers. Additionally, they both had febrile syn drome, persistent condensation images in the chest x-rays, and peripheral eosinophilia throughout the course of the disease. One of the infants required oxygen for more than one month, and there was no eosinophilia in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In this case, the diagnosis of EP was reached via pulmonary biopsy. The other infant required mechanic ventilation for 28 days, and was diagnosed due to eosinophilia greater than 25% in the bronchoalveolar lavage. Both patients had excellent res ponse to systemic corticosteroids. CONCLUSION: After ruling out other causes, EP should be suspected in children with pneumonia diagnosis, and persistent symptoms that do not respond positively to treatment, especially if associated with peripheral eosinophilia. The diagnosis of EP in pediatrics is confirmed with eosinophilia greater than 20% in BAL and, in some cases, it is necessary to perform a lung biopsy.

Simple Pulmonary Eosinophilia Evaluated by Means of FDG PET: the Findings of 14 Cases

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to describe the findings of simple pulmonary eosinophilia with using 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the findings of 14 patients who underwent thoracic computed tomography (CT) and PET, and then they were subsequently proven to have simple pulmonary eosinophilia. PET studies were performed in four patients with malignancy to evaluate for cancer metastasis, and PET scans were also done in 10 healthy subjects who underwent volunteer cancer screening. The PET scans were evaluated by using the maximum standardized uptake values (SUVs). The subjects' CT findings also were reviewed and correlated with the PET findings. RESULTS: A total of 42 nodules were detected on the CT scans. There were single nodules in three patients and multiple nodules in 11 patients (mean number of nodules: 3, range: 1-10, mean diameter: 9.5 mm+/-4.7). Twelve of 42 (28.6%) nodules showed FDG uptake and their mean maximum SUV was 2.5+/-1.6 (range: 0.6-5.3). Five of six solid nodules showed FDG uptake (2.2+/-1.1, range: 0.9-3.6), six of 11 semisolid nodules showed FDG uptake (3.1+/-1.8, range: 0.6-5.3) and one of 25 pure ground-glass opacity nodule showed a maximum SUV of 0.8. The maximum SUVs of seven nodules in five patients were greater than 2.5. The maximum SUVs were significantly different according to the nodule types (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Simple pulmonary eosinophilia commonly causes an increase in FDG uptake. Therefore, correlation of the PET findings with the CT findings or the peripheral eosinophil counts can help physicians arrive at the correct diagnosis of simple pulmonary eosinophilia.