Clinical characteristics and corticosteroid treatment of acute eosinophilic pneumonia

ABSTRACT: The clinical characteristics and optimal duration of corticosteroid treatment for acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) have not been fully evaluated. This was a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from 137 patients with AEP, treated with standardised protocol, to clarify the clinical characteristics and compare the efficacies of 2 weeks versus 4 weeks of corticosteroid treatment for AEP. The majority of the patients altered their smoking habits within a median (interquartile range) of 17 (13–26) days prior to development of AEP. 80 (58%) patients presented with acute respiratory failure. A total of 127 (92%) patients were treated with corticosteroids: 4 weeks, n542; 2 weeks, n585. Major symptoms were resolved in 3 days and the severity of respiratory failure was inversely correlated with clinical outcomes. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics between the groups, the differences in adjusted mean (95 % confidence interval) for resolution of dyspnoea and disappearance of all symptoms were 0.57 (-0.71–1.86) and-0.04 (-1.91–1.83) days, respectively. The difference in adjusted proportion of resolution of radiological abnormalities was 6.92 % (-8.19–22.02). In conclusion, the duration of corticosteroid treatment could be shortened to 2 weeks, even in patients with respiratory failure