Exposure to Aspergillus spores is associated with symptoms of asthma or airway inflammation (Chaudhary \& Marr, 2011; Smith \& Denning, 2011), leading to the possible onset of severe fungal complications with acute or chronic inflammation. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), whose main etiological factor is cigarette smoke, A. fumigatus sensitization has been reported to be related to poor lung function (Bafadhel et al., 2014). Besides, COPD patients with fungal sensitization exhibit greater granulocyte count, implying more severe inflammation (Agarwal, Gaur, \& Chowdhary, 2015). Fungal cultures from sputum are frequently positive in patients with asthma or with COPD (Pashley, 2014). Fungal colonization and infection have also been suspected to be related to exacerbations of COPD, but their potential role in the pathogenesis of COPD is poorly understood (Bafadhel et al., 2014). The hypothesis is that patients with COPD have a worsening of their pulmonary symptoms after exposure to fungal spores. This study will ensure the feasibility of quantifying environmental fungal exposure in patients' dwellings. For this, an electrostatic wipe will be deposited in the living room and another one in the bedroom for 12 weeks. The wipes will be analyzed by the mycology laboratory of the Croix Rousse hospital. If the results of this first study are conclusive, it is planned to continue this analysis with a regional multicentre study.
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Quantification of domestic fungal exposure.
Timeframe: 12 weeks after inclusion.