[A case of chronic type farmer's lung which led to severe pulmonary fibrosis and spontaneous pneumothorax].

We present a case of chronic type farmer's lung which showed progressive pulmonary fibrosis and spontaneous pneumothorax 12 years after the first admission. A 56-year-old woman was diagnosed as having farmer's lung in 1981. After the first hospitalization, her chest roentgenogram showed regression with steroid therapy. After that, she sometimes worked at a dairy farm and required rehospitalization three times for recurrence. In April 1993, she was readmitted complaining of sudden chest pain and dyspnea after cough. Her chest roentgenogram on admission showed spontaneous pneumothorax. After treatment, her chest roentgenogram revealed severe pulmonary fibrosis and loss of lung volume.