Löffler's syndrome or Loeffler's syndrome is a disease in which a certain type of white blood cell called an eosinophil accumulates in the lung in response to a parasitic infection. It was first described in 1932 by Wilhelm Löffler in cases of eosinophilic pneumonia caused by the parasites Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis and the hookworms Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. Although Löffler only described eosinophilic pneumonia in the context of infection, many authors give the term "Löffler's syndrome" to any form of acute onset pulmonary eosinophilia no matter what the underlying cause.

See also

• Eosinophilic pneumonia
• Parasitic pneumonia
• Pneumonia

References

1. Löffler, W. Zur Differential-Diagnose der Lungenifiltrierungen. I. Frühfiltrate unter besonerer Berücksichtigung der Rückbildungszeiten. Beiträge zum Klinik der Tuberkulose, 1932, 79, 338-367.
2. Löffler, W. Zur Differential-Diagnose der Lungenifiltrierungen. II. Über flüchtige Succedan-Infiltrate (mit Eosinophilie). Beiträge zum Klinik der Tuberkulose, 1932, 79, 368-382.
3. Löffler, W. Flüchtige Lungeninfiltrate mit Eosinophilia. Klinische Wochjenschrift, Berlin, 1935, 14: 297-299.

Eponymous diseases | Pulmonology

Löffler-Syndrom