2000 Volume 39 Issue 12 Pages 1097-1100
Amiodarone is a useful drug for the treatment of lifethreatening cardiac arrhythmias. However, amiodarone can induced pulmonary toxicity (APT) and may cause lifethreatening lung damage. APT can be difficult to diagnose, but early diagnosis is important. Here, in a 51-year-old man with APT, the high serum KL-6 level was correlated with the severity of symptoms and chest X-ray findings, and it was inversely correlated with PaO2 and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide levels. The findings suggest that the serum KL-6 level may be increased in APT and that therefore it's the determination of serum KL-6 may provide a useful indicator and/or monitoring marker of APT. KL-6 is believed to be produced and secreted by type II pneumocytes. Typical pathological findings of APT include proliferation of type II pneumocytes which may produce KL-6, and result in increased serum KL-6 levels.
(Internal Medicine 39: 1097-1100, 2000)
