Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is a rare disease of unknown cause characterized by eosinophilic alveolar and interstitial infiltration. The authors describe the case of a 46-year-old black man, presenting with insidious onset and progressive course of dyspnea on minimum exertion, cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss for one year and worsening in the last three months. The main findings were serum eosinophilia. Chest radiographs showed multifocal infiltrations of irregular distribution in both lungs and a restrictive functional impairment. The patient underwent open lung biopsy, and the anatomopathological examination revealed consolidation by exudate constituted predominantly by macrophages (25%) and eosinophils (51%), which filled small air spaces, including respiratory and membranous bronchioles. The anatomopathological diagnosis was eosinophilic pneumonia (eosinophils > 25% is widely accepted for diagnosing eosinophilic pneumonia). The patient had a good clinical response after starting corticosteroid therapy.
Keywords: corticosteroid therapy; dyspnea; eosinophilic pneumonia; idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia; pneumonia.
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