"Crack lung and heart" presenting after chemotherapy in a 65-year-old man with non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Curr Oncol. 2008 Jan;15(1):63-5. doi: 10.3747/co.2008.202.

Abstract

Crack cocaine can cause a variety of pulmonary and cardiac complications. Pulmonary findings in a 65- year-old man with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who presented with shortness of breath not resolving with antibiotics are presented here. The usual manifestation of "crack lung" in an unusual clinical circumstance underlines the importance of a clinical history in such cases. The finding of "crack lung" preceded the diagnosis of probable "crack heart." No other similar published case reports could be identified in the literature.

Keywords: cocaine; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; “Crack lung”.