26 Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
26.1 What this covers
- Antigen removal (worse prognosis if no antigen is identified - Noguieria et al Pulmonology 2019)
- Steroids, but weak evidence base (RCT of 36 resulted in improvement in DLCo and FVC at 1 month but no difference at 5 years; matched cohort of 144 showed slower fibrosis progression on CT - esp early fibrosis)
- AZA, MMF - need to exclude IPF (increased mortality). Less side effects than long-term steroids.
26.2 Learning objectives
- Antigen removal (worse prognosis if no antigen is identified - Noguieria et al Pulmonology 2019)
- Steroids, but weak evidence base (RCT of 36 resulted in improvement in DLCo and FVC at 1 month but no difference at 5 years; matched cohort of 144 showed slower fibrosis progression on CT - esp early fibrosis)
- AZA, MMF - need to exclude IPF (increased mortality). Less side effects than long-term steroids.
- ? Nintedanib - INBUILD study, progressive fibrosis including 26.1% who had chronic HP
26.3 Bottom line / summary
- Extrinsic allergic alveolitis - to inhaled organic small particles.
- CHEST: https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)00686-3/fulltext
- ATS: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202005-2032ST
- ARUP’s panel and what the significance of each result is:
- Diagnostic algorithm (From ATS)
26.4 Approach
- Antigen removal (worse prognosis if no antigen is identified - Noguieria et al Pulmonology 2019)
- Steroids, but weak evidence base (RCT of 36 resulted in improvement in DLCo and FVC at 1 month but no difference at 5 years; matched cohort of 144 showed slower fibrosis progression on CT - esp early fibrosis)
- AZA, MMF - need to exclude IPF (increased mortality). Less side effects than long-term steroids.
- ? Nintedanib - INBUILD study, progressive fibrosis including 26.1% who had chronic HP
26.5 Red flags / when to escalate
- TODO: List red flags that require urgent escalation.
26.6 Common pitfalls
- TODO: Capture common errors or missed steps.
26.7 References
- https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)00686-3/fulltext
- https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202005-2032ST
- https://photos.collectednotes.com/photos/5187/200a7dbe-8a3d-4fad-8c21-96b5118ae8b9
- https://photos.collectednotes.com/photos/5187/6e91d6df-1bd2-4ee0-88e5-d93ce65f487b
- https://photos.collectednotes.com/photos/5187/272e9096-095f-408b-8837-605c2de59229
- https://photos.collectednotes.com/photos/5187/0fb15d68-dd72-41e1-a9fb-6aa26c076289
26.8 Source notes
26.8.1 Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
27 Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
Extrinsic allergic alveolitis - to inhaled organic small particles.
Recent guidelines:
CHEST: https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)00686-3/fulltext
ATS: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202005-2032ST
ARUP’s panel and what the significance of each result is:

Nonfibrotic:

Fibrotic: 
Diagnostic algorithm (From ATS)

40% BAL lymphocytosis is strongly associated.
Treatment:
- Antigen removal (worse prognosis if no antigen is identified - Noguieria et al Pulmonology 2019)
- Steroids, but weak evidence base (RCT of 36 resulted in improvement in DLCo and FVC at 1 month but no difference at 5 years; matched cohort of 144 showed slower fibrosis progression on CT - esp early fibrosis)
- AZA, MMF - need to exclude IPF (increased mortality). Less side effects than long-term steroids.
- ? Nintedanib - INBUILD study, progressive fibrosis including 26.1% who had chronic HP