Eosinophilia
Rise in eosinophils in blood to abnormal levels, i.e.greater than 0.4 × 109/L is known as eosinophilia
Causes Or Etiology Of Eosinophilia
- Parasitic infection: Ascariasis, Hookworm disease, Wuchereria bancrofti, schistosomiasis.
- Allergic conditions: Drug allergy, hay fever, asthma, aspergillosis
- Skin disorders: Psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis
- Tumors: Lymphoma and Myeloproliferative disorders
- Collagen vascular disorders: Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Hypereosinophilic syndrome
- Miscellaneous: Addison’s Disease, Sarcoidosis.
Read And Learn More: General Medicine Question And Answers
Types Of Pulmonary Eosinophilia
1. Cryptogenic eosinophilic pneumonia:
- It is seen commonly in middle age females.
- Symptoms present are fever, malaise, nausea, breathlessness, and dry cough.
- Chest Xray shows abnormal shadows in upper zones simulating pulmonary tubercular infiltrates.
- Peripheral blood and sputum on examination show eosinophilia.
- Both ESR and serum IgE levels are elevated.
- Prednisolone is given which should be withdrawn in tapered doses after the patient gets normal.
Drug-induced bronchopulmonary eosinophilia:
- As the name suggests, it occurs due to drugs.
- It starts with a cough and along with other symptoms such as fever chills and dyspnea.
- On X-ray pulmonary infiltrates are seen.
- Withdrawal of an offending drug and use of steroids.
Asthma Eosinophil Count Asthmatic bronchopulmonary eosinophilia:
- It is characterized by asthma.
- The main cause is an allergy to A. fumigatus or Candida
- Presence of transient fleeting shadows on X-ray.
- Peripheral blood and sputum on examination show eosinophilia.
2. Idiopathic eosinophilic syndromes
Loeffl’s syndrome:
- This is a benign acute eosinophilic pneumonia.
- Various parasitic infestations are associated with it.
- It is characterized by migratory pulmonary infiltrates.
- There is also the presence of cough, fever, and dyspnea.
Hypereosinophilic syndrome:
- There is the presence of peripheral blood eosinophilia for 6 months or longer.
- In this disease, there is lack of presence of parasitic, allergic, or other known causes of eosinophilia.
- It leads to the multisystem organ dysfunction.
- There is tissue infiltration by mature eosinophils as well as blood and bone marrow eosinophilia.
- In this syndrome, organs affcted are the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, skin, and nervous system.
- Treatment should be done with steroids.
Churg-Strauss syndrome:
- It is a multisystem vasculitic disorder that affects the skin, lungs, kidney,s and nervous system.
- The patient suffers from fever, malaise, anorexia, weight loss, and severe asthmatic attack.
- Presence of pulmonary infiltrates on X-ray.
- Peripheral blood on examination shows eosinophilia.
- Treatment is done with steroids and immunosuppressive agents.
Clinical Features eosinophilia.
- Cases of pulmonary eosinophilia generally have mild symptoms in the form of a cough with mucoid expectoration, breathlessness and mild fever, dyspnea or orthopnea, wheezing
- General weakness and exhaustion
- Pain in the chest which is mild and different.
Diagnosis eosinophilia or Eosinophilic Asthma Test
- Blood count shows raised eosinophilic count and IgE level.
- A skin test is positive.
- There is presence of high amount of eosinophils in the sputum.
- Xray chest shows diffuse miliary mottling often stimulating tuberculosis.
Treatment eosinophilia or Eosinophilic Asthma Treatment: By long-term steroids such as oral prednisolone 60 mg/day.
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