Treatment of atopic cough caused by Basidiomycetes antigen with low-dose itraconazol

We report two patients with atopic cough due to Basidiomycetes antigen. One patient was a 27 year-old woman and the other was a 17 year-old boy. Both patients visited our hospital because of severe nonproductive cough. They did not have bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine or heightened bronchomotor tone. Bronchodilator therapy was not effective for their cough. Her symptoms worsened in her office and his in his house, suggesting existence of etiologic agent(s) in their environments. Basidiomycetes was isolated from the woman's office and from the boy's house, and the bronchoprovocation test with Basidiomycetes antigen was positive. Low dose itraconazol (50 or 100 mg/day) given for two weeks eliminated cough in both patients. This is the first report describing the effectiveness of low dose antifungal therapy for atopic cough caused by Basidiomycetes antigen.