Eosinophilia Apparently Related to Cigarette Smoking

Abstract

THERE are clinically a moderate number of patients with eosinophilia of unknown etiology or eosinophilia associated with mild allergic signs and symptoms (hay fever and so forth) without demonstrable allergens or other specific etiologic agents. The laboratory is occasionally called upon to evaluate a patient with eosinophilia by the examination of multiple fecal specimens for ova and parasites to complete an otherwise fruitless etiologic medical work-up. Since these cases usually do not reveal any parasitic basis for the eosinophilia the possibility of relating the abnormality to tobacco smoking came to mind. A review of the literature did not reveal any . . .