Stankus R P, Salvaggio J E
Clin Chest Med. 1983 Jan;4(1):55-62.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis represents a disease spectrum and not a single pulmonary disorder. Both acute and chronic forms of disease occur and presumably reflect different yet interrelated immune mechanisms of pathogenesis. The diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, although often straightforward, may depend on the use of immunologic and microbiologic analyses with the aid of inhalation challenge testing. Finally, the immune pathway to disease expression is as yet undefined and may represent subtle changes in "suppressor" cell populations and their regulatory effects on immune effector cells.
过敏性肺炎代表一种疾病谱，而非单一的肺部疾病。疾病的急性和慢性形式均会出现，推测反映了发病机制中不同但相互关联的免疫机制。过敏性肺炎的诊断虽然通常直接明了，但可能依赖于借助吸入激发试验进行的免疫学和微生物学分析。最后，疾病表达的免疫途径尚未明确，可能代表“抑制性”细胞群体的细微变化及其对免疫效应细胞的调节作用。
