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Journal of Thoracic Imaging Oct 1988Asbestosis is a pneumoconiosis that results from the inhalation of asbestos fibers. There is a body of evidence that implicates the alveolar macrophage in the... (Review)
Review
Asbestosis is a pneumoconiosis that results from the inhalation of asbestos fibers. There is a body of evidence that implicates the alveolar macrophage in the pathogenesis of asbestosis because of its prominence in asbestos-related histologic lesions. Injury to the alveolar epithelium also may contribute to the pathogenesis of asbestosis. Evidence is presented to suggest that pulmonary fibrosis may result from the persistent release of inflammatory mediators (chemoattractants, lysosomal enzymes, toxic oxygen radicals, arachidonic acid metabolites, interleukins, and fibroblast growth factors) at sites of asbestos deposition. Histologic features of asbestosis can be detected within months after the initial contact with asbestos. In contrast, the stigmata of asbestos-related disease usually are not radiologically detectable, even by the most sensitive imaging techniques, until after a latency period of at least a decade, and often considerably longer. There is, therefore, a long diagnostic delay between the time when asbestosis is histologically detectable and when it is radiographically detectable.
Topics: Asbestos; Asbestosis; Humans; Macrophages; Pulmonary Alveoli; Radiography; Time Factors
PubMed: 3054134
DOI: 10.1097/00005382-198810000-00004 -
The Central African Journal of Medicine Sep 1969
Topics: Asbestosis; Bronchial Neoplasms; Dust; Humans; Male; Mesothelioma; Mining; Pneumoconiosis; Radiography; Tuberculosis; Zimbabwe
PubMed: 5350834
DOI: No ID Found -
Medical Times Dec 1968
Topics: Adult; Aged; Asbestosis; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Middle Aged
PubMed: 5705945
DOI: No ID Found -
Yonsei Medical Journal Oct 1997Pulmonary asbestosis is defined as bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. Many occupations are at risk for asbestos...
Pulmonary asbestosis is defined as bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. Many occupations are at risk for asbestos exposure, particularly in the mining, milling, manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, and automotive industries. Therefore, the prevalence of asbestosis should be fairly widespread. The diagnosis of asbestosis can be made on either clinical or pathological grounds. We recently encountered one case of asbestosis which was confirmed histologically. On HRCT, there was ground-glass opacity with irregular linear shadows, subpleural curvilinear lines and parenchymal bands. Neither plaque nor calcification were noted. The histologic findings observed on open-lung biopsy specimen were well in accord with those in HRCT. Many asbestos-coated bodies were present along with black dust.
Topics: Asbestosis; Biopsy; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radiography, Thoracic; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 9409196
DOI: 10.3349/ymj.1997.38.5.323 -
Lancet (London, England) Jul 1970
Topics: Asbestosis; England; Humans; Jurisprudence; Lung; Male; Occupational Diseases; Workers' Compensation
PubMed: 4193585
DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(70)92556-0 -
British Journal of Diseases of the Chest Jan 1975Lung biopsy in 16 patients with abnormal lung function and who had been exposed to asbestos revealed asbestosis in 4 with considerable radiological evidence of the...
Lung biopsy in 16 patients with abnormal lung function and who had been exposed to asbestos revealed asbestosis in 4 with considerable radiological evidence of the disease, in of 4 with minimal radiological changes and in none of 8 with completely clear radiographs. Thus biopsy for the diagnosis of this condition should be avoided if the chest radiograph shows no evidence of it.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Asbestos; Asbestosis; Biopsy, Needle; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Lung; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumothorax; Radiography; Smoking; Spirometry; Vital Capacity
PubMed: 1138804
DOI: 10.1016/0007-0971(75)90055-8 -
AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology Jan 1995CT is more sensitive than clinical evaluation for the detection of asbestosis but is inevitably less sensitive and less specific than pathologic evaluation. For the...
CT is more sensitive than clinical evaluation for the detection of asbestosis but is inevitably less sensitive and less specific than pathologic evaluation. For the asbestos-exposed individual, CT is useful for the evaluation of suspected lung masses, particularly rounded atelectasis [15], for identifying pleural plaques, and for confirming unequivocal asbestosis (grade 2 or grade 3 [8]). CT also will identify and quantify emphysema as a cause of physiologic impairment. Because clinicians commonly use CT to resolve clinical uncertainties, radiologists often feel pressured to categorize disease as unequivocally present or absent. Gamsu et al. [8] show that the borderline between normal and abnormal is not always sharply defined. In the absence of pathologic proof, the diagnosis of asbestosis must be based on a thoughtful evaluation of the likelihood of asbestosis by use of all available clinical, physiologic, and radiologic information. The scoring systems used by Gamsu et al. [8] offer a practical approach to defining the likelihood of asbestosis based on CT appearances.
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans; Lung; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 7998571
DOI: 10.2214/ajr.164.1.7998571 -
Chest Jun 1998To explore whether the progression of asbestosis correlates with the risk of lung cancer among patients with asbestosis.
STUDY OBJECTIVES
To explore whether the progression of asbestosis correlates with the risk of lung cancer among patients with asbestosis.
DESIGN
A group of 85 asbestosis patients (78 men and 7 women) were radiographically followed up between 1979 and 1987. Two or three posteroanterior radiographs taken from each patient in 1978 to 1979, 1983 to 1984, and 1986 to 1987 were classified according to the International Labour Office 1980 classification and were used to divide the patients into progressors and nonprogressors. Follow-up for cancer was done automatically through the files of the Finnish Cancer Registry from the time of determination of the progression status to December 31, 1994. Predictors of lung cancer risk were studied with a logistic regression model, and the standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated for lung cancer.
RESULTS
Of the 24 male patients with progressive small opacity profusion, 11 (46%) developed lung cancer, as opposed to 5 (9%) of the 54 male patients without progression. The SIR for lung cancer was 37 (95% confidence interval, 18 to 66) for the progressors and 4.3 (1.4 to 9.9) for the nonprogressors. In both groups, all the lung cancer cases occurred among smokers or ex-smokers. None of the seven female patients showed progressive small opacity profusion. One of them developed lung cancer. In the logistic regression model including all 85 asbestosis patients, radiographic progression of small opacity profusion (p=0.0009) and current smoking (0.0021) were significant predictors of lung cancer morbidity.
CONCLUSIONS
Asbestosis patients with radiographic progression of small opacity profusion over a few years are at a higher risk of lung cancer than those with a less aggressive course of the disease. The progression of pulmonary fibrosis may be an independent risk factor that, in addition to smoking history and the intensity of asbestos exposure, could be used to estimate lung cancer risk.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Asbestosis; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Lung; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Radiography; Risk Factors
PubMed: 9631787
DOI: 10.1378/chest.113.6.1517 -
Revue Medicale Suisse Feb 2012
Topics: Asbestosis; Awareness; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Denial, Psychological; Humans; Jurisprudence; Mass Media; Morals; Politics; Switzerland; Tobacco Industry
PubMed: 22452135
DOI: No ID Found -
Australian Family Physician Aug 2003
Topics: Asbestosis; Asthma; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Pleural Effusion; Prognosis; Radiography
PubMed: 12973874
DOI: No ID Found