What Is Lipoid Pneumonia?

Lipid pneumonia is a chronic inflammatory response of the lungs to some lipids. Infants born prematurely, weakly, or cleft due to inadequate pharyngeal reflexes. When feeding milk, cod liver oil, or paraffin oil dripping from the nostrils, they are inhaled into the lungs by interstitial pneumonia.

Basic Information

English name: lipoid pneumonia
Visiting department: Respiratory Medicine
Common locations: lung

Common causes: Inhalation of paraffin oil, cod liver oil, gasoline, milk, etc., chronic obstruction and inflammation of the airways cause lesions
Common symptoms: Cough, dyspnea after activity, chest pain, hemoptysis, fever, chills, etc.

Causes of Lipid Pneumonia

1. Exogenous is caused by inhalation of fats and oils, common ones are paraffin oil, cod liver oil, gasoline, milk, etc. Inhaled vomitus generally contains animal oil, vegetable oil and pathogenic bacteria, causing lung inflammation and local tissue fibrosis.

2. Endogenous, also known as cholesterol pneumonia, is chronic obstructive inflammation of the respiratory tract, such as chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, and occasional complications after radiotherapy, which causes localized lung lesions.

Clinical manifestations of lipid pneumonia

Most patients are asymptomatic, and abnormalities are noticed on the chest radiograph. Common symptoms are cough, difficulty breathing after exercise, chest pain, hemoptysis, fever (usually low fever), chills, night sweats, and weight loss. Physical examination may be without signs. Or fever, shortness of breath, dull sounds on chest auscultation, bronchial or bronchoalveolar breathing sounds, wet and dry rales, or twisting sounds can be heard. Arterial blood gas analysis is normal, and hypoxemia can occur after exercise. Severe patients may have hypoxemia, hypocapnia, and mild respiratory alkalosis.

Lipid pneumonia test

Laboratory inspection

Void vacuoles with diameters ranging from 5 to 50 mm were seen in the macrophages in the sputum, and they gathered into clusters. When stained in Sudan, they were dark orange in color, with small extracellular oil droplets with the same staining, and the blood sedimentation was accelerated.

2. Other auxiliary inspections

X-ray chest radiographs can show unilateral or bilateral infiltrates, which are localized or diffused, and more common in the lower lungs. Air bronchograms can be seen. When fibrosis occurs, lung volume decreases and there are linear and nodular infiltrates. There are also limited block shadows, like bronchial lung cancer. Pulmonary function tests are restrictive ventilation dysfunction and decreased lung compliance.

Lipid pneumonia diagnosis

The diagnosis of lipid pneumonia depends on a detailed history; lipid-filled macrophages in sputum can help diagnose.

Differential diagnosis of lipid pneumonia

Blocky shadows in the lungs can be used for bronchoscopic lung biopsy, which can help identify pulmonary fibrosis caused by other causes. Nodular blocky shadows in the lungs must be distinguished from lung cancer.