Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia following a jalapeño grease fire.

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is an inflammatory lung disease characterized by granulation tissue in the respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts and alveoli. BOOP can be caused by a number of etiologies including infection, toxic inhalation, medications, radiation, and collagen vascular disease, or it can be idiopathic. We report here a case of BOOP following inhalational exposure to a jalapeño grease fire. Capsaicin and other jalapeño-derived compounds are known causes of epithelial damage and airway inflammation but to our knowledge have never been implicated in the development of BOOP. This case adds to the growing list of exposures associated with BOOP and highlights the importance of taking a thorough exposure history in patients with lung injury of unknown etiology.

Pulmonary Actinomyces graevenitzii infection presenting as organizing pneumonia diagnosed by PCR analysis.

We report what is believed to be the first case of pulmonary Actinomyces graevenitzii infection presenting as organizing pneumonia. Fever and night sweats developed in a 69-year-old male. The only abnormal laboratory data were an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein level. On chest images, multiple consolidations with air bronchograms were seen in the bilateral lungs. Histological examination from lung biopsy revealed a pattern of organizing pneumonia with microabscesses, but definitive diagnosis was not obtained because culture from lung specimen was negative. A. graevenitzii was eventually identified in the lung biopsy specimen by detection of an Actinomyces-specific PCR product followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The patient was treated with high-dose ampicillin intravenously for 1 month, followed by oral amoxicillin and clarithromycin for 6 months, and recovered. We suggest that actinomycosis can present as organizing pneumonia, and identification of infection by PCR analysis and rRNA gene sequencing is a useful strategy in cases that are difficult to diagnose.

Cryptogenic organizing pneumonitis during oxaliplatin chemotherapy for colorectal cancer: case report.

The patient presented here is a 30-year-old woman who underwent anterior resection for the initial treatment of rectal cancer. A postoperative study showed a single liver metastasis. The patient received adjuvant pelvic radiotherapy with concomitant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment followed by liver metastasectomy 6 weeks after the completion of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Adjuvant therapy with 5-FU, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX 4 regimen) was continued. The initial five cycles were well tolerated with the occurrence of only paresthesia that did not interfere with function. After the sixth cycle of the treatment, progressive dyspnea and persistent cough developed in the patient, although her clinical history was negative for lung disease. A chest radiograph revealed diffuse bilateral interstitial infiltrates, and a chest CT scan showed bilateral alveolar infiltrates predominant in the right lung. Lung biopsy by video-assisted thoracoscopy was performed, and the histologic report showed cryptogenic organizing pneumonitis (COP). Prednisone therapy (1 mg/kg/d) resulted in a very good clinical response. In fact, the patient had complete remission of respiratory symptoms including cough and dyspnea after 4 days of treatment, and the chest CT scan showed complete resolution of lung infiltrates after 4 weeks. One month later, the patient continued adjuvant treatment with six cycles of 5-FU, leucovorin, and irinotecan (ie, the FOLFIRI regimen) without complications. Thus, oxiplatin was implicated as the likely cause of this drug-induced lung toxicity, which is a very rare complication associated with platins. Diffuse interstitial lung disease, particularly COP, has been described following the administration of the cytotoxic agents bleomycin and busulfan, but a connection to oxaliplatin has not been reported before this case.