Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia associated with noncaseating epithelioid granulomas

A 34 year old Japanese woman was referred to our university hospital due to pulmonary opacities and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy on chest X-ray. She also had uveitis, erythematous skin nodules, and oral and genital ulcers. Laboratory data showed eosinophilia in the circulation and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Histological study revealed massive eosinophilic infiltration and noncaseating epithelioid granulomas in the lung and mediastinal lymph node, without evidence of vasculitis. Pulmonary opacities, lymphadenopathy, and blood eosinophilia promptly improved with corticosteroid therapy. In this patient, idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia overlapped with features of sarcoidosis and Behçet's disease.