Giant cell pneumonia caused by parainfluenza type 3 in a patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia.

A 4 1/2-year-old boy with acute myelomonocytic leukemia developed fever, neutropenia, and a prolonged respiratory illness while receiving maintenance chemotherapy. An open lung biopsy specimen demonstrated a giant cell pneumonia with intracytoplasmic and probable intranuclear viral inclusions of the paramyxovirus type. Serologic studies demonstrated convincing evidence of a parainfluenza type 3 infection. Although parainfluenza type 3-induced giant cell pneumonia has been reported in infants with the severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of this complication in a patient with leukemia.