@article {Rhee402, author = {Chin Kook Rhee and Kyung Hoon Min and Nam Yeol Yim and Ji Eun Lee and Na Rae Lee and Man Pyo Chung and Kyeongman Jeon}, title = {Clinical characteristics and corticosteroid treatment of acute eosinophilic pneumonia}, volume = {41}, number = {2}, pages = {402--409}, year = {2013}, doi = {10.1183/09031936.00221811}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {The clinical characteristics and optimal duration of corticosteroid treatment for acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) have not been fully evaluated. This was a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from 137 patients with AEP, treated with standardised protocol, to clarify the clinical characteristics and compare the efficacies of 2 weeks versus 4 weeks of corticosteroid treatment for AEP. The majority of the patients altered their smoking habits within a median (interquartile range) of 17 (13{\textendash}26) days prior to development of AEP. 80 (58\%) patients presented with acute respiratory failure. A total of 127 (92\%) patients were treated with corticosteroids: 4 weeks, n=42; 2 weeks, n=85. Major symptoms were resolved in 3 days and the severity of respiratory failure was inversely correlated with clinical outcomes. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics between the groups, the differences in adjusted mean (95\% confidence interval) for resolution of dyspnoea and disappearance of all symptoms were 0.57 (-0.71{\textendash}1.86) and -0.04 (-1.91{\textendash}1.83) days, respectively. The difference in adjusted proportion of resolution of radiological abnormalities was 6.92\% (-8.19{\textendash}22.02). In conclusion, the duration of corticosteroid treatment could be shortened to 2 weeks, even in patients with respiratory failure.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/2/402}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/2/402.full.pdf}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }