[Two elderly cases with acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia]

We studied two cases of the elderly with acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia to elucidate a prognostic role of super oxide generation in peripheral whole blood. The first case was a 70-year-old man, who presented with acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia and was hospitalized. Following steroid-pulse therapy, CRP, ESR, blood-gas and his physical condition improved, resulting in successful discharge. In this case, super oxide generation standardized by the number of neutrophils (K) decreased to less than 1.0 in association with the improvement of physical condition. The second case was a 92-year-old woman in whom acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia was diagnosed. While the pulse therapy, CRP, LDH and blood-gas temporarily improved, K was continuously greater than 1.0 and the physical condition worsened, resulting in her death. These cases suggest that the measurement of super oxide generation in peripheral whole blood may play a useful role in assessing the prognosis of the elderly with acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia.