Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 71, Issue 8 , Pages 421-424, August 2008

Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemosiderosis: Favorable Response to Corticosteroids

  • Chung-Hua Chen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, Hope Doctors Hospital, Miao Li, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Hsiao-Bai Yang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pathology, Ton-Yen General Hospital, Jhubei, Hsinchu, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Shyh-Ren Chiang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, Chi-Mei Foundation Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Po-Chien Wang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, Ton-Yen General Hospital, Jhubei, Hsinchu, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr Po-Chien Wang, Department of Internal Medicine, Ton-Yen General Hospital,69, Sianjheng 2nd Road, Jhubei, Hsinchu 302, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Received 23 August 2007; accepted 24 March 2008.

A 50-year-old Taiwanese woman had a history of massive hemoptysis occurring every 6 months for the past 4 years. After each bout of hemoptysis, chest roentgenography would show diffuse alveolar infiltration of bilateral lungs, which would usually resolve within 7 days. Transbronchial biopsy revealed diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and hemosiderin-laden macrophage infiltration. Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis was diagnosed by excluding other glomerular, cardiac and immunological disorders. An initial dose of 20 mg prednisolone daily was tapered to 10 mg daily 1 month later. The patient is currently undergoing steroid therapy, and there have been no further episodes of hemoptysis.

Key Words:  diffuse alveolar hemorrhage , hemoptysis , idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis

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PII: S1726-4901(08)70094-7

doi:10.1016/S1726-4901(08)70094-7

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 71, Issue 8 , Pages 421-424, August 2008

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