CHRONIC EOSINOPHILIC PNEUMONIA WITH ATYPICAL PRESENTATION IN PATIENT WITH HEART FAILURE – CASE REPORT

Backgrounds. Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia(CEP) is a rare disorder characterized by eosinophilic pulmonaryinfiltrates and progressive respiratory failure.Patient and method. A 78-years old male with heart failurepresented with progressive dyspnea, persistent cough and respiratoryfailure. Chest radiograph showed bilateral pulmonaryinfiltrates. His physical deterioration progressed aftercardiac recompensation. Pulmonary infiltrates resolved andpresenting symptoms disappeared during steroid treatment.Despite of atypical radiographic presentation laboratory changesand histological examination confirmed the diagnosis ofchronic eosinophilic pneumonia.Conclusions. Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia is a rare disease,but it should be considered even in older patients withheart failure, when peripheral blood eosinophilia and pulmonaryinfiltrates hardly explainable only with left-sided heartfailure are present.