Rare Type Of Pneumonia Occurring At Higher Than Normal Rate...

[benburch]

Rare Type Of Pneumonia Occurring At Higher Than Normal Rate Among U.S. Troops In Iraq

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050104113637.htm

CHICAGO -- Two deaths have been attributed to a rare type of pneumonia that is occurring among U.S. troops in Iraq at a higher than normal rate, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA.

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is a rare disease characterized by a fever, respiratory failure, and an infiltration of the lungs, according to background information in the article. Generally, patients with AEP present with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Clinicians may initially confuse AEP with severe community-acquired pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or both.

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[Ian David]

1. Sand and Smoke

"All patients used tobacco, with 78 percent recently beginning to smoke. All but 1 reported significant exposure to fine airborne sand or dust. Known causes of this type of lung disorder (e.g., drug exposures or parasitic disease) were not identified."

Well, it's good to know that there's at least one more way cigarettes can kill people faster.

[norml]

2. This was also found in a NYC Fireman working at ground zero, in 2002.

NEW YORK CITY FIREMAN DIAGNOSED WITH RARE PNEUMONIA FROM "GROUND ZERO"

A 38-year-old New York City fireman, working 16-hour days looking for survivors or bodies at "ground zero" of the World Trade Center disaster, suffered a rare case of acute eosinophilic pneumonia caused by what his doctors believe was exceptionally high dust exposure. The fire- fighter's doctors reversed the course of this rare disease, which is characterized by noninfectious respiratory failure, through the use of oxygen and corticosteroid drugs. His computed tomography scan showed that he suffered from patchy ground glass density, thickened bronchial walls, and abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleura--the delicate membrane covering the lung and the interior wall of the chest. Analysis of lung fluid identified fly ash, degraded glass, and asbestos fibers. In an editorial in the same issue, an expert points out that acute eosinophilic pneumonia is a condition recognized only in the last 15 years, and is of uncertain etiology. The expert notes that five other firefighters at the disaster site were offered the same treatment for similar complaints and recovered. However, this firefighter is the only one to have broncho-alveolar lavage that could distinguish true eosinophilic pneumonia. He points out that the analysis of dust from the World Trade Center found predominately coarse particles of cement and gypsum that were extremely alkaline, making the dust potentially very irritating to the respiratory system. On the subject of protective devices or "masks" for respiration, the expert notes that most users find the discomfort of the mask difficult to tolerate for more than brief periods. He hopes that out of this disaster will come new ways of protecting the respiratory systems of those who risk their lives to save others. The research and editorial appear in the second issue for September 2002 of the American Thoracic Society's peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.