Lipoid pneumonia in children: clinical and imagenological manifestations.

BACKGROUND

Oil-aspiration pneumonia is still a health problem in countries where infants are forced to receive vegetable or animal oil due to traditional habits. The aim of this paper is to present clinical and imagenological characteristics of lipoid pneumonia (LP) in children and a review of the literature. Distinguishing features of and differences between other series are presented.

METHODS

Series of cases. We retrospectively analyzed all records of children with lipoid pneumonia between 1991 and 1996.

RESULTS

We found 16 patients aged 1-19 months old with positive oil ingestion in 75% and history of recurrent or persistent pneumonia in 81.2%. In almost 70% of patients, there were underlying conditions known as risk factors of aspiration. Plain films and computed tomography (CT) showed that the right lung was always involved. Fat density was found in only two cases. Bronchoscopy with bronchial lavage was performed in 15 patients, with lipophages positive in each patient.

CONCLUSIONS

Lipoid pneumonia must be ruled out in the differential diagnosis in infants with persistent or recurrent pneumonia with or without fever, especially in patients with aspiration risk factors. Bronchoscopy with bronchial lavage and positive lipid-laden alveolar macrophages proved a useful method for diagnosis of this condition. More studies are needed to ascertain the clinical and imagenological evolution of this condition.