[Lipoid pneumonia: presentation of a case]

We report a case of lipoid pneumonia treated in our Health Centre. It is a disease that occurs rarely, but is important in Primary Care. This condition has been known since 1925, when it was first described by Laughlen, who described a case of lipoid pneumonia secondary to an injection of oil in the nasopharyngeal area. Today it is a rarity, and it is most frequently associated with the use of oil-based nasal drops (which are now decreasing in use). Its aetiology may be endogenous or exogenous. Although the pathological diagnosis is generally the most important, sometimes a lesion in the chest X-ray can lead us to suspect it due to the patient's history. This was a case of acute lipoid pneumonia in a young patient, who periodically performed as a "fire eater".