Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 1, 2026
Experimental Model to Evaluate Resolution of Pneumonia
Published on: February 17, 2023
Traction bronchiectasis on high-resolution computed tomography may predict fatal acute eosinophilic pneumonia
Reoto Takei1, Machiko Arita1, Shogo Kumagai2
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kurashiki Central Hospital, 1-1-1 Miwa, Kurashiki, Okayama 710-8602, Japan.
Background:
Most patients with acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) show rapid improvement. However, some cases of AEP prove fatal. The aims of this study were to determine the clinical, radiographic, and pathologic characteristics of patients in whom AEP has a fatal outcome and to identify predictors of a poor prognosis.
Methods:
We retrospectively identified the medical records of all patients diagnosed with AEP at our institution in Japan from July 2005 to July 2013.
Results:
There were four deaths among 41 patients diagnosed to have AEP during the study period. All the patients who died were male; three cases were idiopathic and one was medication-related. The median bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophil differential count was 59%. An autopsy was performed on the patient with medication-related AEP who died and the pathologic finding was diffuse alveolar damage with eosinophilic infiltration. Diffuse ground-glass attenuation and traction bronchiectasis (TBE) were identified on high-resolution computed tomography in the four patients with fatal AEP. TBE was observed in six patients (five with idiopathic AEP, one with medication-related AEP), and 67% of these patients died. None of the patients with smoking-related AEP had TBE; all these patients had better responses to treatment and survived.
Conclusions:
We observed the characteristics of patients with fatal AEP who did not respond to treatment. TBE was observed in all fatal cases and may be associated with a poor prognosis.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:10Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
01:27Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography
01:30Pneumonia I: Introduction
Risk Factors
Various factors influence the likelihood of developing pneumonia. Age plays a crucial role, with infants, children under two, and individuals over 65 at increased risk due to their...
01:29Pneumonia II: Pathophysiology
02:27Predicting Molecular Geometry
01:03Prediction Intervals
However, the point estimate is most likely not the exact value of the population parameter, but close to it. After calculating point estimates, we construct interval estimates, called confidence intervals or prediction intervals. This prediction interval comprises a range of values unlike the point estimate and is a better predictor of the observed sample value, y.