Idiopathic Lipoid Pneumonia: An incidental finding in autopsy specimen

Lipoid pneumonia is a rare form of pneumonia which was initially described to be caused by inhalation or aspiration of fatty substances. Certain autopsy studies have reported the incidence to be 1.0-2.5%. Based on the mode of lipid acquisition, it has been classified into endogenous, exogenous or idiopathic types. Almost 50% of the patients with lipoid pneumonia are asymptomatic, and may be discovered by chance during routine chest imaging. In symptomatic patients, the symptoms are non- specific. However, it can produce inflammatory pneumonitis that can progress to irreversible pulmonary fibrosis as seen in our case. We present a case of a 53-year-old deceased male. A piece of one of his lungs was received after autopsy, which appeared normal grossly. There was no history of any illness before death. Microscopy revealed interstitial fibrosis with collection of foamy macrophages in alveolar spaces and cholesterol crystals surrounded by inflammatory reaction including occasional giant cells. The clinical picture and radiologic changes in cases of lipoid pneumonia can mimic bacterial pneumonia and tuberculosis. The occupational history is of extreme importance and should always be investigated

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016