The five causes of eosinophilia

A short mnemonic for eosinophilia is CHINA:

  • Connective tissue diseases, like eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (aka Churg-Strauss) and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Helminths, especially Strongyloides
  • Idiopathic, which is simply called hypereosinophilic syndrome
  • Neoplasms, like Hodgkin lymphoma, CML, and some solid-organ cancers
  • Allergies etc, which includes asthma and drug-induced eosinophilia (don’t forget about DRESS)
    • Also, Addison’s disease, for some reason

Of interest, helminth infections can cause a Loffler’s syndrome, also known as eosinophilic pneumonia, where you see a peripheral eosinophilia on the blood count and pulmonary infiltrates on the chest x-ray.

Read more: Eosinophils in Chapter 80: Disorders of Granulocytes and Monocytes, Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine 19e.

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