Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (Carrington's): a follow-up study.

A follow-up study of eight Mayo Clinic patients with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (also called Carrington's eosinophilic pneumonitis) was done in order to ascertain, if possible, the long-term prognosis of this entity, since it has not been delineated clearly in the literature. Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia is a subacute-to-chronic pulmonary disorder occurring most commonly in nonatopic women with cough, fever, dyspnea, weight loss, and night sweats. The typical chest roentgenogram shows peripheral non-migratory infiltrates, and the characteristic pulmonary histologic finding is eosinophilic infiltration of the interstitium and alveolar spaces. Peripheral eosinophilia is seen in most cases but not all. At the time of follow-up, two of eight patients were continuing to take corticosteroids after 5 1/2 and 8 years. Five patients have been able to discontinue corticosteroid treatment after an average of 4 years, and one patient never required corticosteroids. Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia is added to previous classifications of pulmonary infiltrate with eosinophilia.