Six‐Month Benralizumab Maintenance for Relapsing Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia Guided by Eosinophil Kinetics
Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (ICEP) often relapses upon corticosteroid tapering. Biologics targeting interleukin-5 (IL-5) are effective, but optimal dosing intervals remain unclear. We report a case of relapsing ICEP in a patient in her 50s. Mepolizumab, an IL-5 ligand blocker, failed to maintain remission, with clinical relapse occurring 4 months after initiation. Switching to benralizumab, an interleukin-5 receptor blocker, induced rapid and deep eosinophil depletion. For optimising dosing, treatment was temporarily withheld, revealing a prolonged remission duration of 8 months before eosinophil recovery and clinical relapse. Based on these kinetics, a 6-monthly benralizumab maintenance strategy was established. The patient has remained relapse-free with zero eosinophils for over 2 years under this biannual regimen. This case suggests that benralizumab offers superior durability compared to mepolizumab in CEP due to deep depletion, enabling an extended, cost-effective dosing interval guided by individual eosinophil recovery kinetics.
Authors
- Hirofumi Chiba (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7033-3084)
- Naoki Shijubou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8005-1745)
- Taeka Naraoka
- Taiki Ishigooka
- Toshiyuki Sumi
- Yuichi Yamada
- Kazuya Takeda
Institutions
- Sapporo Medical University (JP)
- Asahikawa Medical University (JP)
- Hakodate National Hospital (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Respirology Case Reports
- Published
- 2026-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/rcr2.70515
- Primary Topic
- Interstitial Lung Diseases and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00