A Case of Exogenous Lipoid Pneumonia after Ingestion of Squalene in Patients with Achalasia.

Park, Jung Chul; Jung, Chi Young; Lee, Jae Kwang; Lee, Yu Jin; Park, Seung Chan; Seo, Hye Jin; Kim, Yeon Jae; Lee, Byung Ki; Huh, Dong Myung; Sohn, Kyung Rak

doi:2008.65.5.421

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 65(5); 2008 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008;65(5):421-425.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.65.5.421 Published online November 1, 2008.

A Case of Exogenous Lipoid Pneumonia after Ingestion of Squalene in Patients with Achalasia.

Jung Chul Park, Chi Young Jung, Jae Kwang Lee, Yu Jin Lee, Seung Chan Park, Hye Jin Seo, Yeon Jae Kim, Byung Ki Lee, Dong Myung Huh, Kyung Rak Sohn

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea. jcy2475@hanmail.net
²Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
³Department of Pathology, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

Exogenous lipoid pneumonia (ELP) is a chronic inflammatory reaction of the lungs resulting from the aspiration of vegetable, animal or mineral oils. Squalene, is a derivative of shark liver oil that is taken as a traditional remedy in some Asian countries, and is used widely also in cosmetics. Similar to the symptoms in most cases of oil aspiration, the symptoms of squalene-induced lipoid pneumonia are either absent or nonspecific. Hence, the disease is generally detected incidentally. Although many cases with predisposing factors have been reported, ELP with achalasia is quite rare. We report a 47-year old woman with achalasia who developed ELP after ingesting squalene. The patient was treated successfully by supportive care and surgical treatment of the achalasia.

Key Words: Lipoid pneumonia, Achalasia, Squalene