Exogenous lipoid pneumonia caused by repeated sesame oil pulling: a report of two cases

BACKGROUND Exogenous lipoid pneumonia is a rare disease caused by aspiration or inhalation of oily substances. CASE PRESENTATION A 66-year-old male with dry cough (Case 1) and a 38-year-old female with shortness of breath (Case 2) demonstrated ground-glass opacities on chest computed tomography and were diagnosed with lipoid pneumonia based on the confirmation of lipid-laden alveolar macrophages. Both patients habitually performed sesame oil pulling via nasal or mouth washing for several months prior to the diagnosis. CONCLUSION Steroid therapy and bronchoalveolar lavage resulted in improvement in Case 1, and no intensive therapy was required for Case 2. Sesame oil pulling has been rarely been reported to cause lipoid pneumonia.