Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: an increasing clinical problem

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is being recognized with increasing frequency in the United States. The characteristics of the disease are recurrent pyrexia, cough, wheezing, sputum plugs containing aspergilli, fleeting pulmonary infiltrates, eosinophilia, dual skin reactions (immediate and late), and antibodies to the fungus in the blood. The pathogenetic mechanism is believed to involve type I and type III hypersensitivity reactions. Adrenal corticosteroids are effective in treating this condition.