[Henoch-Schoenlein purpura with pulmonary infiltration]

Purpura Henoch-Schönlein (PHS) was described in 55-year old man. The damages of skin, joints, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and lung were found. The spreading of the PHS into the lungs with the development of transitory respiratory failure was found out on X-ray finding (bilateral pleural effusions and interstitial infiltrations), functional testing (differential diffusing capacity of alveolar membrane reduced to 31% of normal) and with measurement of blood gases (hypoxemia with PaO2 43.8 mmHg respectively 5.7 kPa). The impairment of lung function is rarely described since according to the data from the literature the lungs are damaged only in 6.5% of patients with PHS. Due to the corticosteroid therapy all clinical and laboratory findings were significantly improved.