Brass musicians may unknowingly inhale mould and bacteria from their instruments, which may lead to the development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a lung condition characterized by shortness of breath and cough. In separate reports, researchers from the United States and France identified cases of HP in a 35-year-old patient who played the trombone and in a 48-year-old patient who played the saxophone. In both cases, patients had no other medical or environmental exposures that could have led to the condition. Analysis of the instruments revealed the presence of mold and/or bacteria contamination within the instruments. In both reports, researchers studied several other musicians and their instruments. Almost all instruments were contaminated with mould and/or bacteria, although no definite additional cases of HP
were diagnosed. Researchers speculate that since most brass and wind instruments may harbour large numbers of mould and bacteria, many other musicians may be at risk for HP. The reports are published in the
September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest
Physicians: CHEST September 2010 138:754; doi: 10.1378/chest.10-0374. CHEST 2010;
138(3):724-726.