Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis. A case with autoimmune disease in the family

Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH) is a chronic, recurrent pulmonary disease predominantly affecting children and often having severe outcome. The triad consisting in iron-deficiency anemia, hemoptysis and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates can guide the diagnosis, but the clinical presentation varies greatly, hence the disease can be easily missed initially. The etiology of IPH is still unknown; allergic, environmental or genetic factors have been proposed, but in the past years the autoimmune theory seems to be more evident, especially in cases with long survival. We present the case of a nine year old girl diagnosed with IPH with a family history of autoimmune disease.