Authors
Ikuko Ooka, Tetsu Hirakawa, Yoshito Temma, Tetsuji Yamaguchi, Tomokazu Ishitobi
Published in
Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 6. Pages e110627. Epub Jun 10, 2026.
Abstract
A 76-year-old woman with a history of polymyalgia rheumatica, dyslipidemia, and osteoporosis was admitted due to a one-week history of productive cough and was initially diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. Despite antibiotic therapy, her clinical condition worsened, leading to respiratory failure. Further history-taking revealed that she had been taking kakkonto, a Japanese herbal medicine (JHM), for the preceding 4.5 months as a self-initiated measure to prevent infection. The patient was eventually diagnosed with kakkonto-induced pneumonitis. Kakkonto was discontinued, and systemic corticosteroid therapy was initiated, resulting in rapid improvement. The peripheral blood drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test was positive for kakkonto. Because the clinical and radiological findings of JHM-induced pneumonitis are nonspecific, careful medication history-taking, particularly for JHM, is essential for diagnosing unexplained pneumonitis.
PMID:
42437236
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Jul 2026.
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