An asthmatic adolescent with a rash and eosinophilia

Children frequently visit emergency departments with asthma exacerbations. Many of these asthmatic children may have fever and/or pneumonia, but when associated with eosinophilia or evidence of vasculitis, other diagnoses should be considered. Churg-Strauss syndrome is a rare form of systemic vasculitis, which usually occurs in patients with asthma in association with eosinophilia. The diagnosis of Churg-Strauss syndrome can be difficult because this syndrome may arise at first as a common association between asthma and allergic rhinitis. A delay in diagnosis and treatment may increase the morbidity from the complications of vasculitis. We report a young asthmatic adolescent who presented with vasculitis, eosinophilia, and peripheral neuropathy.