[Etanercept as a possible trigger of fatal pulmonary fibrosis].

Pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by external agents, including certain drugs. For some time now, tumor necrosis factor antagonists such as etanercept have been used to treat certain autoimmune diseases. Fibrosis caused by medication responds to withdrawal of the drug and treatment with corticosteroids. Very rarely, fibrosis is irreversible. We present the case of a patient who developed pulmonary fibrosis after initiating treatment with etanercept. The clinical course was fulminant despite withdrawal of the drug and high doses of corticosteroids.