Eosinophilic pneumonia in allergological practice

Abstract

In this article, current data on pulmonary eosinophilia are presented. Pulmonary eosinophilia is defined as the infiltration of eosinophils into the airways, interstitia, and alveoli. There are diverse processes in etiology, the common feature of which is the presence of pulmonary eosinophilic infiltrates, and as a rule, peripheral blood eosinophilia. Causes of pulmonary eosinophilia include various infections, medications, parasites, autoimmune processes, malignancies, and presence of obstructive pulmonary diseases. A unified classification of pulmonary eosinophilia is lacking, and instead, various versions of classifications have been presented. The most convenient classification option for use is also distinguished. This article discusses the historical transformation of the term eosinophilic pneumonia in the field of allergology, showing the lack of unambiguity in the concept of eosinophilic pneumonia, as well as the location of eosinophilic pneumonia in the pulmonary eosinophilia section. Eosinophilic pneumonia is defined as a disease characterized by an increase in the eosinophil content in the pulmonary tissue or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Most eosinophilic pneumonias are associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia. Two main variants of the disease are acute and chronic eosinophilic pneumonias. Thus, various ways to formulate diagnoses in various cases of eosinophilic pneumonia have been proposed.