2012 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 83-88
A 66-year old woman presented to our hospital with jaundice, hepatic dysfunction and hyperglycemia. Although we initially suspected pancreatic cancer, the patient was diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). She was started on a daily dose of 35 mg of Prednisolone (PSL) after endoscopic biliary drainage. Although clear improvement was observed in the pancreatic and bile duct strictures, she began to suffer from shortness of breath and hypoxemia while tapering PSL and was again hospitalized with suspected interstitial pneumonia. Failing to respond to steroid pulse therapy, ventilation management was initiated but exacerbated interstitial shadows combined with bilateral pneumothorax and 110 days after admission, she died of exacerbation of respiratory failure. Although a pathological investigation was not performed and many points remain unclear, we strongly suspect IgG4-related interstitial pneumonia.
