Exogenous lipoid pneumonia caused by herbicide inhalation

Exogenous lipoid pneumonia is caused by aspiration or inhalation of oily substances. Generally, lipoid pneumonia has non-specific clinical and radiological presentations and may be misdiagnosed as bacterial pneumonia. Our patient, a 68-year-old man who had been diagnosed with pneumonia on three previous occasions, was admitted to our hospital with a fourth similar episode. Computed tomography of the chest revealed extensive consolidations with air bronchograms in lung fields on the right side. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased ghost-like macrophages that stained positive for lipid. Our patient reported that he had sprayed herbicide in large quantities without wearing a mask. We analysed the BALF and herbicide by gas chromatography and diagnosed exogenous lipoid pneumonia caused by inhalation of herbicide. Clinicians should be aware of lipoid pneumonia, which may present as infectious pneumonia.