抄録
Two cases of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by the patients’ residential environment are presented here.
Case 1: A 74-year-old female residing in municipal housing built 40 years previously was hospitalized because of repeated pneumonitis and was diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis according to the computed tomography (CT) scan and bronchoscopy findings and the results of an environmental provocation test. Following relocation to another residence, the pneumonitis did not relapse.
Case 2: A 61-year-old man inhabiting a wooden residence built 40 years previously visited our hospital presenting with fever and cough of four months’ duration. His symptoms were relieved after hospitalization, but they relapsed when he was discharged, whereupon he was diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. His residence was cleaned, and the pneumonitis did not relapse.
Because both cases were positive for Trichosporon asahii serum antibodies, they were diagnosed with summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In Japan, increased housing demand has resulted in the promotion of the reuse of old residences. It should be widely recognized that vintage residences have a specific risk for health disorders such as summer-type pneumonitis, caused by the inhalation of spores of the fungal pathogens T. asahii and T. mucoides.
