Prognosis

There are limited studies. In patients with nonfibrotic HP, avoidance of the causative agent will result in a good prognosis. In patients with fibrotic HP, the prognosis depends not only on avoidance but also on the lung function at diagnosis and the amount of fibrosis that has already occurred. If there is significant fibrosis, it is unlikely that pulmonary function tests will normalize. Other features associated with poor prognosis include cigarette smoking, lower baseline vital capacity, lack of bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocytosis, persistent exposure to the causative antigen, and/or inability to identify a causative antigen.[59][60][61][62]

In the absence of antigen avoidance, deaths have been reported in individuals diagnosed with farmer's lung and pigeon breeder's disease.

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