Indoor mold and your patient's health: From suspicion to confirmation

Abstract: The manifestations of indoor mold-related disease (IMRD) include irritant effects, such as conjunctivitis and rhinitis; nonspecific respiratory complaints, such as cough and wheeze; hypersensitivity pneumonitis; allergic fungal sinusitis; and mycotoxicosis. The diagnosis of IMRD depends on eliciting an accurate history and excluding preexisting pathology that would account for the patient's symptoms. Laboratory tests, imaging studies, and spirometry can play an important role in ruling out other diagnoses, such as allergic or nonallergic rhinitis, asthma, and pneumonia. The diagnosis of IMRD also involves integrating the results of immunologic, physiologic, and imaging studies with the results of indoor air-quality studies. (J Respir Dis. 2005;26(12):520-525)