2012 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 73-77
A 68-year-old man presented to our hospital with acute respiratory failure that had worsed rapidly over the last month. On chest roentgenogram and CT, he showed diffuse ground-glass opacites in bilateral his lung fields. We interpreted heart failure through echocardiography and pulmonary infectious disease through bronchoalveolar lavage. Therefore, we diagnosed the patient with acute respiratory failure due to interstitial pneumonia induced by the chest roentgenogram, the high KL-6 blood concentration, and other findings. We immediately initiated treatment with elastase inhibitors and anticoagulant agents along with methylprednisolone pulse therapy and mechanical ventilation. However, the patient’s condition worsened. Therefore, we performed blood purification therapy with a combination of the sustained high-efficacy daily diafiltration using a mediator-adsorbing membrane (SHEDD-fA) and the direct hemoperfusion with polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column (PMX-DHP); this therapy was performed over 2 days. Consequently, his respiratory failure was greatly improved and the acute phase of this disorder was alleviated.
