[Hypereosinophilic asthma].

Although moderate airway infiltration by eosinophils is present in the eosinophilic inflammatory phenotype of asthma, hypereosinophilic asthma differs in its frankly elevated levels of eosinophils in the blood, induced sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage. Some etiologic pitfalls may be tricky especially wheezing in eosinophilic pneumonia induced by drugs or parasitic infections. Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia is associated with asthma in most cases. Churg-Strauss syndrome has asthma as a basic feature, but true systemic vasculitis with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies is not always present. Systemic corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment of most hypereosinophilic asthma patients.