Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918
CASE REPORTS
Severe Pneumonia Caused by a Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in an Asymptomatic Emphysematous Smoker
Hideki OzawaSatomi AsaiGuilan JinYuya HasunumaChiharu TanakaTakayuki IkedaMoritsugu KimuraAkihiro UedaTomohiro YamashitaHayato Miyachi
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2010 Volume 49 Issue 15 Pages 1667-1670

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Abstract
A 49-year-old female presented with diarrhea and a high fever followed by progressive dyspnea. Until this presentation, she had been healthy except for chronic dyspepsia and diarrhea. She had a smoking habit of 15 pack-years. Laboratory tests revealed lymphopenia, hypoalbuminemia and hypogammaglobulinemia. A rapid influenza test in combination with an RT-PCR assay revealed the presence of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. Chest computed tomography revealed centrilobular emphysema. This report suggests that regular smoking may become a risk for severe pneumonia in patients presenting with the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus, when accompanying asymptomatic emphysema is combined with other problems such as hypoalbuminemia and hypogammaglobulinemia.
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© 2010 by The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
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