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Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: A sentinel event investigation in a wet building
Author(s) -
Weltermann B. M.,
Hodgson M.,
Storey E.,
Degraff A. C.,
Bracker A.,
Groseclose S.,
Cole S. R.,
Cartter M.,
Phillips Dorothy
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199811)34:5<499::aid-ajim11>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - medicine , hypersensitivity pneumonitis , documentation , cohort , environmental health , disease , occupational disease , family medicine , medical emergency , pathology , lung , computer science , programming language
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) as a sentinel event implies a remediable exposure and an exposed cohort that require evaluation. A patient with HP convincingly related to her building led to a questionnaire survey in follow‐up. Building coworkers demonstrated substantially higher symptom rates than did controls in five other buildings, although no further cases of disease were identified. It is likely that moisture sources in the building included an oversized cooling system and below‐grade moisture, but the building met all applicable regulations and standards. Screening investigations for disease are not mandated by law and are often not conducted, in part because cost coverage is unclear. The absence of regulatory or professional standards that adequately address moisture in the built environment forces occupational health professionals to rely on disease documentation strategies to justify intervention. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34:499–505, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.