Two-year follow up on the protective value of dust masks against farmer's lung disease

Some advocate moving away from the farm environment for farmers affected with farmer's lung disease (FLD), but most affected farmers still live on farms. In this study, we evaluated the practicality of dust masks and their effectiveness in prevention of FLD. The dust masks we chose were practically used and no new severe episodes of FLD developed in 20 of 21 farmers with FLD using the masks during a 2-year period. When the farmers took off the dust masks in a farming environmental provocation test, statistically significant reductions in FVC (mean 3.43 to 3.351, p < 0.01), DLco (mean 19.6 to 18.2 ml/torr/min, p < 0.01), and DL/VA (mean 5.1 to 4.8 (x10(-3)) 1/torr/min, p < 0.01) were observed several hours after exposure. These findings suggest that the dust masks were used practically during routine dairy farming and were effective in protection against FLD.