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. 1998 Aug;152(8):757-62.
doi: 10.1001/archpedi.152.8.757.

Acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants associated with exposure to Stachybotrys atra and other fungi

R A Etzel  1 , E Montaña, W G Sorenson, G J Kullman, T M Allan, D G Dearborn, D R Olson, B B Jarvis, J D Miller
Affiliations

Acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants associated with exposure to Stachybotrys atra and other fungi

R A Etzel et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998 Aug.

Erratum in

  • Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1998 Nov;152(11):1055

Abstract

Background: A geographic cluster of 10 cases of pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis in infants occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, between January 1993 and December 1994.

Study design: This community-based case-control study tested the hypothesis that the 10 infants with pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis were more likely to live in homes where Stachybotrys atra was present than were 30 age- and ZIP code-matched control infants. We investigated the infants' home environments using bioaerosol sampling methods, with specific attention to S atra. Air and surface samples were collected from the room where the infant was reported to have spent the most time.

Results: Mean colony counts for all fungi averaged 29 227 colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 in homes of patients and 707 CFU/m3 in homes of controls. The mean concentration of S atra in the air was 43 CFU/m3 in homes of patients and 4 CFU/m3 in homes of controls. Viable S atra was detected in filter cassette samples of the air in the homes of 5 of 9 patients and 4 of 27 controls. The matched odds ratio for a change of 10 units in the mean concentration of S atra in the air was 9.83 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-3 X 10(6)). The mean concentration of S atra on surfaces was 20 X 10(6) CFU/g and 0.007 x 10(6) CFU/g in homes of patients and controls, respectively.

Conclusion: Infants with pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis were more likely than controls to live in homes with toxigenic S atra and other fungi in the indoor air.

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Comment in

  • Mycotoxins and pulmonary hemorrhage.
    Sudakin DL. Sudakin DL. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999 Feb;153(2):205-6. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.153.2.205. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999. PMID: 9988255 No abstract available.