2012 Volume 49 Issue 5 Pages 612-616
A 69-year-old woman had received oral treatment of propylthiouracil (PTU) under a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism for 35 years. In the first 10 days of January 2009, she noticed the development of a cough. In February of the same year, she consulted a clinic with bloody sputum. Chest X-ray films revealed diffuse infiltration in both lungs, and she came to our hospital for further examination. An alveolar hemorrhage was identified by bronchial alveolar lavage testing. Because the cough was relieved by stopping PTU administration and there has been no relapse during 2-year follow-up, this case was diagnosed as PTU-induced diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Her myeloperoxidase (MPO) -anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) level was 55 EU, suggesting ANCA-associated angitis. However, as a drug lymphocyte stimulation test to PTU was also positive and her MPO-ANCA level was not elevated, the onset mechanism of this case was unclear.
