Hypersensitivity to Wood Dust

Respiratory disease resulting from prolonged exposure to wood dusts may be due to a hypersensitivity reaction in addition to the nonspecific toxic or irritant effects of the inhaled materials. In four patients the hypersensitivity response was manifested by two clinical patterns, one characterized by immediate onset and rapid reversibility of asthmatic symptoms, and the other by a more delayed onset and more gradual reversibility. In this disease the clinical history and challenge with the suspected offending dust proved to be of greater diagnostic importance than skin testing.