Lipid pneumonia

Lipid pneumonia or lipoid pneumonia is a specific form of lung inflammation (pneumonia) that develops when lipids enter the bronchial tree. The disorder is sometimes called Cholesterol pneumonia in cases where that lipid is a factor.

§History

Laughlen first described lipid pneumonia in 1925 with infants that inhaled oil droplets. It is a condition that has been seen as an occupational risk for commercial diving operations but documented cases are rare.

§Causes

Sources of such lipids could be either exogenous or endogenous.

Exogenous: from outside the body. For example, inhaled nose drops with an oil base, or accidental inhalation of cosmetic oil. Amiodarone is an anti-arrythmic known to cause this condition. Oil pulling has also been shown to be a cause.

Endogenous: from the body itself, for example, when an airway is obstructed, it is often the case that distal to the obstruction, lipid-laden macrophages (foamy macrophages) and giant cells fill the lumen of the disconnected airspace.

§Appearance

The gross appearance of a lipid pneumonia is that in which there is an ill-defined, pale yellow area on the lung. This yellow appearance explains the colloquial term "golden" pneumonia.

At the microscopic scale foamy macrophages and giant cells are seen in the airways, and the inflammatory response is visible in the parenchyma.

§Treatment

Treatment is with corticosteroids and possibly intravenous immunoglobulins.

§References

§Further reading

• Spickard, Anderson; Hirschmann, JV (Mar 28, 1994). "Exogenous Lipoid Pneumonia". Archives of Internal Medicine 154 (6): 686â€"92. doi:10.1001/archinte.1994.00420060122013. PMID 8129503. 
• Betancourt, SL; Martinez-Jimenez, S; Rossi, SE; Truong, MT; Carrillo, J; Erasmus, JJ (January 2010). "Lipoid pneumonia: spectrum of clinical and radiologic manifestations.". AJR. American journal of roentgenology 194 (1): 103â€"9. doi:10.2214/ajr.09.3040. PMID 20028911. 

§External links

• Online 'Mendelian Inheritance in Man' (OMIM) 215030
• Gross pathology specimen from the University of Utah

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