Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia in an Airbrush Painter With Poor Response to Systemic Steroids

Airbrush paints contain low-molecular-weight chemicals that can cause occupational asthma, respiratory sensitization, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis; however, its relationship to chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) has never been reported. In this article, we are presenting a unique association between CEP and prolonged exposure to acrylic airbrush paints. Unlike the vast majority of CEP patients who exhibit an excellent response to systemic steroids, our patient did not respond to systemic steroids. We believe that his prolonged exposure to airbrush paints and the evolution of organizing pneumonia might have contributed to the unsatisfactory response to systemic steroids, prolonged hypoxia, and the overall worse prognosis. There are no current data that correlate acrylic paints to the development of CEP; our report is the first to introduce a probe to further investigate this association.