Diffuse recidivant alveolar hemorrhage in a patient with hepatitis C virus-related mixed cryoglobulinemia.

A case of diffuse and recidivant alveolar hemorrhage is presented in a patient with hepatitis C virus-related type II mixed cryoglobulinemia with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. The patient was a 48-year-old white woman who suffered several outbreaks of pulmonary hemorrhage refractory to treatment with steroids, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, plasmapheresis and interferon-alpha. The patient also presented persistent increased titers of immune complexes and rheumatoid factor with no histological hepatic alterations. Some considerations about evolution and treatment are given according to the updated physiopathology of this disease.