first described the condition. Then in 1932 Wilhelm Löffler[1] drew attention to the disease in cases of eosinophilic pneumonia caused by the parasites Ascaris lumbricoides,[2] Strongyloides stercoralis and the hookworms Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. Finally in 1943 the condition was called tropical eosinophilia by RJ Weingarten, and later officially named Löffler's syndrome. The most well-known case of Löffler's syndrome was in a young boy from Louisiana. He arrived at the hospital reporting a high fever after three days, as well as having rapid breathing. "He was hospitalized and treated with supplemental oxygen, intravenous methylprednisolone, and nebulized albuterol." The boy's symptoms quickly subsided and upon further investigation it was discovered that the boy worked caring for pigs. A test was then performed on the pigs' fecal matter and surrounding soil; it contained the parasite that had caused the boy's ailment. Another incident again involved a young boy who had been experiencing vomiting and a fever for a span of 3 months. When the doctors finally took an echocardiograph of the child they discovered that the "patient's admission blood count showed leukocytosis with an abnormally elevated level of peripheral eosinophils." The child was then diagnosed with Löffler's endocarditis, and immediately began immunosuppressive therapy to decline the eosinophilic count. 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. If the cause is unknown, it is specified and called "simple pulmonary eosinophilia". Cardiac damage caused by the damaging effects of eosinophil granule proteins (e.g. major basic protein) is known as Loeffler endocarditis and can be caused by idiopathic eosinophilia or eosinophilia in response to parasitic infection. See also Eosinophilic pneumonia Parasitic pneumonia Pneumonia References External links Respiratory diseases principally affecting the interstitium Syndromes affecting the lung