A CASE OF SYSTEMIC HYPEREOSINOPHILIA ASSOCIATED WITH DOXYCYCLINE USE

Melissa Nelson, MD, Ginger Tsai-Nguyen, MD, Zachary Freeland, MD and Adan Mora Jr.*, MD

ABSTRACT

Hypereosinophilic syndromes have been attributed to certain drugs in the literature, including minocycline. These syndromes may be restricted to a single organ or may involve multiple systems. We report the case of a 22-year-old woman with a history of atopy who developed peripheral hypereosinophilia after treatment with doxycycline for cellulitis, which was later found to be eosinophilic in nature. Doxycycline was discontinued on admission, but several days later she developed respiratory distress and bilateral infiltrates on chest radiograph. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed 56% eosinophils consistent with eosinophilic pneumonia. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a hypereosinophilic syndrome following exposure to doxycycline.

Keywords: Hypereosinophilia, Bronchoalveolar, eosinophilic.