Extrinsic allergic alveolitis; Farmer's lung; Mushroom picker's disease; Humidifier or air-conditioner lung; Bird breeder's or bird fancier's lung

Symptoms of acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis may occur 4 - 6 hours after you have left the area where the foreign substance is found, making it difficult to find a connection between your activity and the disease.

Symptoms may include:

• Chills
• Cough
• Fever
• Malaise (feeling ill)
• Shortness of breath

Symptoms of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis may include:

• Breathlessness, especially with activity
• Cough, often dry
• Loss of appetite
• Unintentional weight loss

Your doctor may hear abnormal lung sounds called crackles (rales) when listening to your chest with a stethoscope.

Lung changes due to chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis may be seen on a chest x-ray. Other tests may include:

• Aspergillus precipitins test
• Bronchoscopy with washings, biopsy, and bronchoalveolar lavage
• CBC
• High-resolution CT scan of the chest
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis antibody panels
• Krebs von den Lungen-6 assay (KL-6)
• Pulmonary function tests
• Video-assisted or open-lung biopsy

Images

Bronchoscopy

Respiratory system

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Hypersensitivity pneumonitis Overview

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Hypersensitivity pneumonitis Treatment

Review Date: 06/10/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)