Successful diagnosis of humidifier lung by individual provocation test to a responsible environment, a case report

Abstract

A 52-year-old woman presented with repeating episodes of pneumonia which spontaneously resolved after hospitalization. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis was suspected, but the causative antigen was not determined whether the parakeets she kept or the humidifier she owned was causative exposure. To identify which exposure is culprit, individual provocation test to a responsible environment was sequentially conducted. First, a home-returning provocation test to the parakeet was negative. Contrarily, the humidifier provocation test to her own humidifier was positive for symptoms, radiological changes, and inflammatory responses in blood test. Finally, she was diagnosed as having humidifier lung. When several antigens are suspected to be the causative agents for hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a step-by-step provocation tests is useful.

Keywords: Humidifier lung; Hypersensitivity pneumonitis; Provocation test.