Drug-induced lung disease due to topical minoxidil

Takashi Ishiguro; Yoichi Kobayashi; Hajime Furuno; Naomi Takata; Yoshinori Kawabata; Yoshihiko Shimizu; Yotaro Takaku

doi:10.1016/j.rmcr.2023.101940

Drug-induced lung disease due to topical minoxidil

Respir Med Case Rep. 2023 Nov 5:46:101940. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2023.101940. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Takashi Ishiguro¹, Yoichi Kobayashi¹, Hajime Furuno¹, Naomi Takata², Yoshinori Kawabata³, Yoshihiko Shimizu³, Yotaro Takaku¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Saitama, Japan.
² Department of Radiology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Saitama, Japan.
³ Department of Pathology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Saitama, Japan.

Abstract

A 55-year-old man presented to our institution with abnormal chest X-ray shadows. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed left-sided interlobular septal thickening; thus, we suspected lymphangitis carcinomatosis and other disorders that show similar CT findings. Bronchoscopy and laboratory and imaging studies yielded no diagnostic findings. Pulmonary shadows during follow-up spontaneously improved then worsened. Thoracoscopic lung biopsy samples showed interstitial pneumonia and granulomas but the etiology of the pulmonary lesion could not be determined. At seven years after presentation, the patient's pulmonary shadows had gradually deteriorated, and he reported using topical minoxidil. His history of minoxidil use was linked to changes in the pulmonary shadows. The diagnostic delay was due to the patient's hesitancy to report drugs obtained online and the difficulty in obtaining such a history.

Keywords: Drug-induced lung disease; Granuloma; Interlobular septal thickening; Minoxidil; Topical use.

Publication types

Case Reports