[Bronchial obstruction and the ideopathic hyper-eosinophilic syndrome].

The idiopathic hyper-eosinophilic syndrome is defined as a peripheral blood eosinophilia greater than 1.5 x 10(9)/litre present for at least 6 months and associated with visceral involvement. It may only be accepted after carefully excluding the other common or rare causes of hyper-eosinophilia and should remain a diagnosis of exclusion. The associated visceral lesions are multiple and non-specific. Among these neurological, digestive, dermatological and cardiac manifestations are the most frequently described. Whereas pleuro-pulmonary involvement is also common, asthma is rarely reported. We report a case of ideopathic hyper-eosinophilic syndrome presenting as asthma. This was secondary to eosinophilic infiltration of the bronchial mucosa as demonstrated by cytological examination of induced sputum.