DIAGNOSTICS, THERAPY, COURSE AND RESULTS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC EXTRINSIC ALLERGIC ALVEOLITIS

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease caused by exposure to organic antigens that cause an immune response mediated by T lymphocytes in susceptible subjects. There is an acute/sub-acute variant and a chronic variant characterized by fibrotic evolution (cHP). We evaluated functional progression in cHP patients, with a monocentric retrospective observational study. We enrolled 54 patients, average age at diagnosis: 68 , 12 women. Average follow up: 44 months. Diagnosis made through multidisciplinary evaluation. The number of average hospitalizations for respiratory causes was 1.6 per patient. Of the 54 patients, 9 died, 4.1 years after diagnosis. Bronchoscopy: on average, BAL at Neutrophils 7.89%, Lymphocytes 21.26%, Macrophages 66.19%, Eosinophils 1.15%, Basophils 0.00%, and a CD4 / CD8 ratio of 1.49. Chest CT scan: the prevalent lesion in patients was honeycombing (48/54), followed by micronodules (37/54), air trapping (36/54) and traction bronchiectasis (28/54). cHP represents a severe disease, with a prognosis that can become poor in the short/medium term from diagnosis. These are preliminary data.