A Severe Case of Isotretinoin Induced Eosinophilic Pneumonia and Pericardial Effusion, a Case Report

BACKGROUND: We report a case of a 25-year-old female who presented with fever, rash and general malaise. CASE PRESENTATION: She was initially diagnosed and treated for peri-/myocarditis, but she deteriorated quickly with the development of extensive bilateral consolidations for which she was mechanically ventilated. Two weeks before admission, she took isotretinoin for less than a week for disfiguring acne. Diagnosis of drug-induced acute eosinophilic pneumoniae (EP) was made after excluding other causes of AEP. Even before starting steroid treatment, the patient improved significantly, which was in alignment with the elimination of the active metabolite of isotretinoin. CONCLUSION: The presented case underlines the importance of performing a thorough history and consider recently started drugs as the cause of eosinophilic pneumoniae, even if they have not yet been described as a known trigger of drug-induced EP.