Transient eosinophilia associated with pancreatitis and pseudocyst formation

Eosinophilia is frequently associated with allergic rhinitis, asthma, drug reactions, parasitic infections, malignant neoplasms, collagen vascular diseases, skin diseases, and pulmonary infiltrates. It has been infrequently described in conjunction with pancreatic diseases and not before, to my knowledge, with pseudocyst formation. A patient with alcohol-related pancreatitis manifested a transient eosinophilia during development of a massive pancreatic pseudocyst. Although he was atopic, with a greatly elevated serum IgE level, there was no recent contact with the specific allergen to which he was sensitized. This constellation of alcohol-related pancreatitis with pseudocyst formation, atopy with elevated serum IgE level, and transient eosinophilia is an interesting coincidence.