Liquid paraffin pneumonia--with chemical analysis and electronmicroscopy

Liquid paraffin pneumonia was diagnosed after open lung biopsy in a woman age 73 with a hiatus hernia and rheumatoid arthritis who had been taking liquid paraffin nightly for fifty two years. Histological examination showed a lipid type pneumonia with involvement of alveoli, interstitial tissues and brochioles. Chemical analysis of the lung showed total lipids of 17.7% (w/w), 86% was liquid paraffin which was positively identified by infrared spectroscopy. Transmission electronmicroscopy showed macrophages in the alveoli filled by phagosomes. The alveoli were mainly lined by alveolar type II cells. Scanning electronmicroscopy showed alveoli filled by a mass of vacuoled material.