Lung Abscess During the Treatment of Relapsed Churg-Strauss Syndrome / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a rare disease characterized by asthma, peripheral eosinophilia and vasculitis. A quarter of CSS patients with clinical remission have experienced a relapse. We report here a case of lung abscess in a patient with relapsed CSS. A 46-year-old man who achieved clinical remission of CSS was confirmed for relapse by the presence of peripheral eosinophillia, pulmonary lesions and perivascular infiltrate of eosinophils in colon pathology. After administration of systemic glucocorticoid and one cycle of cyclophosphamide pulse therapy, he complained of dyspnea, sputum and chest pain. There were necrotic masses containing internal air-fluid levels in the right upper and the left lower lobes of the lung on chest radiography. Percutaneous needle aspiration culture specimens revealed the presence of K. pneumoniae. The patient was successfully treated with a 5-week course of antibiotics.