Acute eosinophilic pneumonia: A potentially fatal disease under a mask of acute community-acquired bacterial pneumonia

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is a rare and sometimes fatal disease. Diagnosis of AEP may be especially difficult in its early stages, before development of peripheral eosinophilia. This is a case study of AEP in a 27 years old female, reviewing etiologic factors, clinical presentation, diagnostic procedures and current treatment strategies. An important feature is that an early presentation of AEP may mimic the onset of bacterial pneumonia. Misdiagnosis and delay of appropriate treatment may result in development of respiratory failure and even death. Therefore, it is important that the relevant information regarding AEP presented in this article is disseminated to a wide forum of physicians.