Intravascular Talcosis due to Intravenous Drug Use Is an Underrecognized Cause of Pulmonary Hypertension

Intravascular Talcosis due to Intravenous Drug Use Is an Underrecognized Cause of Pulmonary Hypertension

Intravenous injection of illegal drugs or medications meant for oral administration can cause granulomatous disease of the lung. This intravascular talcosis results in pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. Nine cases of histologically confirmed intravascular talcosis were reviewed with specific attention given to the clinical histories in these patients. Five autopsy cases were include...

Pulmonary talcosis with intravenous drug abuse.

Talc has been known to cause lung disease, via inhalation or intravenously. A good history along with radiological correlation will often reveal the diagnosis. However, most intravenous drug abusers are reluctant to give a history of exposure, and most diagnoses are made after lung biopsy. We present a case of acute respiratory failure that posed a diagnostic challenge and was diagnosed only af...

Pulmonary talcosis caused by intravenous methadone injection

A 38-year-old woman presented to our pulmonology clinic with complaints of progressive dyspnea and dry cough for more than three months. She denied fever or weight loss. On physical examination, she presented as hypoxemic, with a room air oxygen saturation of 92% and an RR of 24 breaths/min. Pulmonary function tests showed that spirometric values were within normal limits, but there was a sligh...

Talcosis due to abundant use of cosmetic talcum powder.

Methotrexate nodulosis in conditions other than rheumatoid arthritis is very rare. It has been reported in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and Jaccoud’s arthropathy [4], a patient with juvenile arthritis who was rheumatoid factor negative [5], and a patient with psoriatic arthritis and negative rheumatoid factor [6]. Only the patient with juvenile arthritis had pulmonary nodules. Ho...

Talcosis due to abundant use of cosmetic talcum powder