Case of exogenous lipoid pneumonia: steroid therapy and lung lavage with an emulsifier.

VASELINE oil intoxication is a known cause of exogenous lipoid pneumonia. Vaseline oil is a mixture of saturated aliphatic (C14–C18) and cyclic hydrocarbons that is insoluble in water and, in the alveolar space, activates an acute inflammatory response with edema and interstitial fibrosis. Because the hydrocarbons cannot be metabolized in humans, the therapy consists of limiting or decreasing the inflammatory reaction by steroids or of removing the hydrocarbons. The success of the two approaches depends on the extent of the intoxication, but unfortunately, no quantitative measurements of hydrocarbons are available in the literature. We report a case in which we quantitatively assessed the hydrocarbon lung concentrations during treatment.