Drug-induced pulmonary disease

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Respiratory system

Drug-induced pulmonary disease

Definition:

Drug-induced pulmonary disease is a lung disease caused by an adverse (bad)reaction to a medication.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Many types of lung injury can result from medications, and it is often impossible to predict who will develop lung disease resulting from a medication or drug.

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The types of lung diseases that may result from medications include:

Allergic reactions -- asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or eosinophilic pneumonia
Coughing or bronchitis
Inflammation of the lung air sacks (pneumonitis or infiltration)
Interstitial fibrosis (scarring)
Pulmonary edema (swelling in the lungs caused by fluid buildup in the tissues)
Alveolar hemorrhage (bleeding into the lung air sacks)
Pleural effusion (fluid in the tissues surrounding the lungs)
Lung vasculitis (inflammation of lung blood vessels)
Mediastinal inflammation (inflammation of the spaces surrounding the lungs and heart)
Swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
Respiratory failure
Granulomatous lung disease -- a type of tumor in the lungs
Drug-induced lupus erythematosus

Numerous drugs are known to cause lung disease in some people including chemotherapy agents, certain antibiotics, illicit drugs, certain cardiovascular drugs, and many others.

References:

Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000.

Noble J. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001.