Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia: A Pediatric Case with Idiopathic Bronchiectasis

Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is a rare lung disease and is especially uncommon in children. It presents with subacute respiratory symptoms of hypoxemia and dyspnea, peripheral infiltrates on imaging, and eosinophilia. However, it can be difficult to diagnose, as there is no strict diagnosis criteria and the clinical findings may be very nonspecific. In this case report, we describe a 14-year-old female with an unusual presentation of asymptomatic bronchiectasis, and the role of surgical lung biopsy in the diagnosis of CEP when no peripheral or alveolar eosinophilia is seen. It suggests that perhaps bronchiectasis can also be an unusual presenting sign of CEP and that there may be more asymptomatic cases of CEP with the true incidence being underreported, especially in the pediatric population.