Objective: To report the first case of propylthiouracil-induced adult respiratory distress-like syndrome associated with the presence of an antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody.
Methods: We describe the initial manifestations, laboratory findings, and clinical course in a patient and discuss underlying factors potentially contributing to her condition.
Results: A 57-year-old woman with hyperthyroidism had an influenza-like illness and vasculitis during propylthiouracil therapy. Three days after she was admitted to the hospital, an adult respiratory distress-like syndrome developed. Results of perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) and antimyeloperoxidase antibody studies were positive. Her condition improved after the introduction of glucocorticoid therapy and the withdrawal of propylthiouracil treatment. The pANCA level, however, remained unchanged 3 months after her dismissal from the hospital.
Conclusion: The propylthiouracil-induced adult respiratory distress-like syndrome may be a hypersensitivity phenomenon, and the presence of the pANCA could be a marker of a common mechanism of injury that stimulates its production rather than a pathogenic factor responsible for vascular injury in our patient.