Foreign body granulomatosis in intravenous drug addicts in Hong Kong

CY Wong, YC Chan, KC Lee, KC Wong, GTS Law, WTT Shum
Tuberculosis and Chest Unit, Wong Tai Sin Hospital, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Foreign body granuloma in the lung is not an uncommon finding in autopsies performed on intravenous drug addicts in Hong Kong, but the diagnosis is seldom made in life. We report three cases of foreign body granulomatosis in Chinese intravenous drug addicts. All three had miliary shadows on chest radiograph and the diagnosis was confirmed by transbronchial biopsy.

Hong Kong Med J 1996;2:326-9

Key words: Talcosis; Granulomatosis; Addicts; Tuberculosis; Pulmonary