Cytarabine-induced lung injury: case report

We report the case of a 65-year-old male patient with acute myelogenous leukemia who developed severe respiratory failure after receiving cytarabine treatment. Chest radiograph showed bilateral alveolar infiltrates. He was intubated and underwent flexible bronchoscopy. An extensive diagnostic work-up revealed no evidence of infection. Steroids were added to empiric antibiotic treatment and the patient was successfully extubated in 5 days. Cytarabine-induced lung injury should be considered in the differential diagnosis of alveolar infiltrates in immunocompromised patients. If bronchoscopy fails to confirm an infectious cause, a short course of steroids must be tried, which probably leads to a favorable outcome.