Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2006 Jun 6;8(2):67.

A case of fire-eater's pneumonia in an active-duty soldier

Matthew Aboudara  1 , Joon Yun
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of fire-eater's pneumonia in an active-duty soldier

Matthew Aboudara et al. MedGenMed. .

Abstract

Fire-eater's pneumonia is an acute, intense hydrocarbon pneumonitis resulting from aspiration of volatile hydrocarbons such as kerosene, gasoline, or turpentine. The vast majority of patients have resolution of their acute lung injury with supportive care only, avoiding the need for surgical lung reduction procedures. We describe a case of severe hydrocarbon pneumonitis secondary to aspiration of JP-8 jet fuel. The presentation, management, and prognosis of fire-eater's pneumonia are reviewed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CT of chest with IV contrast shows extensive involvement of right lung parenchyma with thoracotomy tube visible (arrow), abscesses with air-fluid levels (asterisks), and a right-sided loculated pleural effusion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Repeat noncontrast-enhanced CT of the chest done 3 weeks later reveals marked improvement in the right lung with minimal residual scarring.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Godfrank, Flomaenbaum, Lewin, et al. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. pp. 1303–1323.
    1. Gentina T, Tillie-Leblond I, Birolleau S, et al. Fire-eater's lung: seventeen cases and a review of the literature. Medicine. 2001;80:291–297. - PubMed
    1. Beermann B, Christensson T, Moller P, Stillstrom A. Lipoid pneumonia: an occupational hazard of fire eaters. BMJ. 1984;289:1728–1729. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crapo J, Glassroth J, Karlinsky J, et al. Baum's Textbook of Pulmonary Diseases. 7th ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2004. pp. 412–413.
    1. Chevron USA. Inc. Aviation Turbine Fuel Composition. Aviation Fuels Technical Review. Chapter 4. Available at: http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/aviationfuel/4_a.... Accessed April 26, 2006.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources