Spotlight on the diagnosis of extrinsic allergic alveolitis (hypersensitivity pneumonitis).
Repeated inhalative exposures to antigenic material from a variety of sources, mainly from moulds, thermophilic Actinomycetes, and avians, respectively, can induce immune responses with the clinical picture of extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Delays of years or even decades till the diagnosis is made are not uncommon; frequent misdiagnoses include allergic asthma, COPD, recurrent flue and other infections. We provide here the state of the art references, a detailed case description and recommend a current diagnostics schema.
Institute for Occupational Medicine, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany ; European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine, EOM, Berlin, Germany.
Xaver
X
Baur
Institute for Occupational Medicine, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany ; European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine, EOM, Berlin, Germany.
Axel
A
Fischer
Division Occupational Toxicology and Immunology, Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany ; European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine, EOM, Berlin, Germany.
Lygia T
LT
Budnik