[A rich and blessed professional illness - organizing pneumonia due to gold dust]

A 47-year-old man, restorer of religious art, presents a three week history of asthenia, myalgia, dry cough and fever, coinciding with recent, unprotected exposure, to golden dust. He had fever, crackles in lung bases, hypoxemia and elevation of inflammatory markers. Imaging studies showed areas of parenchymal consolidation with air bronchograms in posterior-basal regions of both lungs, suggesting a pneumonic process. Lung function tests: mild restrictive pattern. Bronchoalveolar lavage: lymphocytosis with low CD4/CD8 ratio. Lung biopsy: intraalveolar pneumonia with exsudative process and organization. Treatment with Prednisolone 40mg id was started with excellent response. First month follow-up CT scan showed areas of ground glass suggesting residual pneumonitis, and he resumed normal activities with excellent exercise tolerance, under appropriate protection measures.