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Eosinophils usually account for less than 7% of the circulating leukocytes. [1] A marked increase in non-blood tissue eosinophil count noticed upon histopathologic examination is diagnostic for tissue eosinophilia. [2] Several causes are known, with the most common being some form of allergic reaction or parasitic infection.
Löffler's syndrome is a disease in which eosinophils accumulate in the lung in response to a parasitic infection. The parasite can be Ascaris, Strongyloides stercoralis, or Dirofilaria immitis [1] which can enter the body through contact with the soil. [2]
When eosinophilic pneumonia is related to an illness such as cancer or parasitic infection, treatment of the underlying cause is effective in resolving the lung disease. When due to acute or chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, however, treatment with corticosteroids results in a rapid, dramatic resolution of symptoms over the course of one or two days.
Eosinophils, sometimes called eosinophiles or, less commonly, acidophils, are a variety of white blood cells and one of the immune system components responsible for combating multicellular parasites and certain infections in vertebrates. [2] Along with mast cells and basophils, they also control mechanisms associated with allergy and asthma.
Though the most widely known role of eosinophils is in regards to allergy and parasitic infections, recent research has found evidence for an antiviral function of eosinophils. [ 3 ] [ 8 ] Research has shown that mice that were genetically modified to have more eosinophils than normal were able to combat RSV infection more effectively than ...
Common laboratory findings for parasitic pneumonia includes peripheral eosinophilia, or elevated eosinophil levels on a [[complete blood count. [6] Although this may be present in any parasitic infection, this is a defining feature of Loeffler's syndrome. [7] Parasites may be detected by specific tests depending on which organ system they affect.
Other parasitic infections, such as the zoonotic filariae, dirofilariasis, ascariasis, strongyloidiasis, visceral larva migrans and hookworm disease, may also be confused with TPE because of overlapping clinical features, serological profile and response to diethylcarbamazine.
Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a nematode (roundworm) parasite that causes angiostrongyliasis, an infection that is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin. [3] The nematode commonly resides in the pulmonary arteries of rats, giving it the common name rat lungworm. [4]