Chronic nitrofurantoin reaction associated with T-lymphocyte alveolitis

Nitrofurantoin use was associated with the development of severe interstitial lung disease which was characterized by bronchoalveolar lavage with a marked increase in lymphocytes to 60 percent (compared to normal of 7 +/- 1 percent). Lymphocytes were predominantly of the T-helper subset. Lavage may prove useful in the assessment of the immune response in drug-induced lung disease.