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Chinese Medical Journal Apr 2021Pneumoconiosis refers to a spectrum of pulmonary diseases caused by inhalation of mineral dust, usually as the result of certain occupations. The main pathological... (Review)
Review
Pneumoconiosis refers to a spectrum of pulmonary diseases caused by inhalation of mineral dust, usually as the result of certain occupations. The main pathological features include chronic pulmonary inflammation and progressive pulmonary fibrosis, which can eventually lead to death caused by respiratory and/or heart failure. Pneumoconiosis is widespread globally, seriously threatening global public health. Its high incidence and mortality lie in improper occupational protection, and in the lack of early diagnostic methods and effective treatments. This article reviews the epidemiology, safeguard procedures, diagnosis, and treatment of pneumoconiosis, and summarizes recent research advances and future research prospects.
Topics: Dust; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Pneumoconiosis; Pulmonary Fibrosis
PubMed: 33879753
DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000001461 -
Primary Care Respiratory Journal :... Jun 2013
Review
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans; Pneumoconiosis; Silicosis
PubMed: 23708110
DOI: 10.4104/pcrj.2013.00055 -
Radiologia Dec 2022The term inhalational lung disease comprises a group of entities that develop secondary to the active aspiration of particles. Most are occupational lung diseases....
The term inhalational lung disease comprises a group of entities that develop secondary to the active aspiration of particles. Most are occupational lung diseases. Inhalational lung diseases are classified as occupational diseases (pneumoconiosis, chemical pneumonitis), hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and electronic-cigarette-associated lung diseases. The radiologic findings often consist of nonspecific interstitial patterns that can be difficult to interpret. Therefore, radiologists' experience and multidisciplinary teamwork are key to ensure correct evaluation. The role of the radiologist is fundamental in preventive measures as well as in diagnosis and management, having an important impact on patients' overall health. It is crucial to take into account patients' possible exposure to particles both at work and at home.
Topics: Humans; Lung Diseases; Pneumoconiosis; Lung; Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic; Pneumonia
PubMed: 36737167
DOI: 10.1016/j.rxeng.2022.10.007 -
Annals of the American Thoracic Society Sep 2022
Topics: Anthracosilicosis; Coal; Coal Mining; Humans; Pneumoconiosis; Silicon Dioxide
PubMed: 36048122
DOI: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202206-528ED -
Journal of Occupational Health Mar 2017The Japanese government established the Pneumoconiosis Law in 1960 to protect health and promote the welfare of workers engaged in dust-exposed works. This article... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The Japanese government established the Pneumoconiosis Law in 1960 to protect health and promote the welfare of workers engaged in dust-exposed works. This article describes Japanese practice in workplace health management as regulated by the Pneumoconiosis Law to reduce pneumoconiosis in Japan.
METHODS
We collected information addressing pneumoconiosis and the health care of dust-exposed workers. We included all types of scientific papers found through a PubMed search as well as official reports, guidelines, and relevant laws published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan and other academic institutions.
RESULTS
In the past, pneumoconiosis has been a major cause of mortality and morbidity for Japanese workers engaged in dust-exposed work. The Pneumoconiosis Law introduced a system of pneumoconiosis health examination and health supervision to protect workers' health. According to the periodic pneumoconiosis health examination reports in Japan, the prevalence of pneumoconiosis fell from the highest reported figure of 17.4% in 1982, where 265,720 examinations were conducted, to 1% in 2013 in which 243,740 workers were examined. The number of new cases of pneumoconiosis dropped from 6,842 cases in 1980 to 227 cases in 2013. One hundred and seventy two workers were diagnosed as having pneumoconiosis complications in 1980; however, the number fell to five in 2013.
CONCLUSION
After reaching its peak in the 1980s, pneumoconiosis and its complications fell each year. The achievement of Japanese pneumoconiosis prevention can be credited to a comprehensive provision for worker health, regulated by a thorough legal framework.
Topics: Dust; Early Diagnosis; Humans; Japan; Occupational Exposure; Occupational Health; Pneumoconiosis; Safety Management; Spirometry
PubMed: 27980247
DOI: 10.1539/joh.16-0031-RA -
BMJ Open Apr 2023To describe the prevalence, clinical features and potential risk factors of pneumoconiosis in combination with connective tissue disease (CTD) or positive autoantibodies.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence, clinical features and potential risk factors of pneumoconiosis in combination with connective tissue disease (CTD) or positive autoantibodies.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING
A retrospective study of adults recruited in China between December 2016 and November 2021.
PARTICIPANTS
A total of 931 patients with pneumoconiosis at Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital were enrolled in this study; of these, 580 patients were included in the final analysis.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Pneumoconiosis combined with CTD or positive autoantibodies was a major adverse outcome.
RESULTS
In total, 13.8% (80/580) of the patients had combined pneumoconiosis with CTD, among whom the prevalence of CTD was 18.3% (46/251) in asbestosis and 11.4% (34/298) in silicosis/coal mine workers' pneumoconiosis. In comparison to the general Chinese adult population, the relative risk of various CTD in pneumoconiosis, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, primary Sjögren's syndrome, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated vasculitis, were 11.85, 12.12, 127.40, 4.23, 9.94 and 644.66, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.56 to 4.17) and a later stage of pneumoconiosis (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.24 to 3.34) were the independent risk factors for CTD in patients with pneumoconiosis (all p<0.050).
CONCLUSION
CTD is highly prevalent in patients with pneumoconiosis, especially in patients of asbestosis, and silicosis/coal mine workers' pneumoconiosis. Female sex and later stages of pneumoconiosis are associated with an increased risk of combined with CTD.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Female; Cross-Sectional Studies; Asbestosis; Retrospective Studies; Pneumoconiosis; Connective Tissue Diseases; Silicosis; Autoantibodies; Coal; China
PubMed: 37012009
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068628 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Dec 2017A 40-year-old female dental technician visited our hospital for the investigation of a chest X-ray abnormality. Chest computed tomography demonstrated centrilobular...
A 40-year-old female dental technician visited our hospital for the investigation of a chest X-ray abnormality. Chest computed tomography demonstrated centrilobular nodules and lung volume reduction, and her serum KL-6 level was elevated. A histological analysis of the specimens obtained on a surgical lung biopsy showed peribronchiolar fibrosis with pigmented macrophages and cholesterol clefts. An energy-dispersive X-ray analysis showed that these lung tissues contained some metals, including indium. The serum indium level was also elevated. We diagnosed this patient with pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to sandblasting certain dental metals. This is the first reported case of pneumoconiosis in a dental technician associated with exposure to indium.
Topics: Adult; Dental Materials; Dental Technicians; Female; Humans; Lung; Occupational Diseases; Pneumoconiosis; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 29021460
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.8860-17 -
Pharmacology & Therapeutics Dec 2022This review provides an overview of literature addressing progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) from September 2009 to the present. Advances are described in understanding... (Review)
Review
This review provides an overview of literature addressing progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) from September 2009 to the present. Advances are described in understanding its pathophysiology, epidemiology of the occurrence of PMF and related conditions, the impact of PMF on pulmonary function, advances in imaging of PMF, and factors affecting progression of pneumoconiosis in dust-exposed workers to PMF. Basic advances in understanding the etiology of PMF are impeded by the lack of a well-accepted animal model for human PMF. Recent studies evaluating lung tissue samples and epidemiologic investigations support an important role for the silica component of coal mine dust in causing coal workers' pneumoconiosis and PMF in contemporary coal miners in the United States and for silica in causing silicosis and PMF in artificial stone workers throughout the world. Development of PMF is associated with substantial decline in pulmonary function relative to no disease or small opacity pneumoconiosis. In recent reports, computed tomography has had greater sensitivity for detecting PMF than chest x-ray. Magnetic resonance imaging shows promise in differentiating between PMF and lung cancer. Although PMF develops in dust-exposed workers without previously identified small opacity pneumoconiosis, the presence of small opacity pneumoconiosis increases the risk for progression to PMF, as does heavier dust exposure. Recent literature does not document any effective new treatments for PMF and new therapies to prevent and treat PMF are an important need.
Topics: Humans; United States; Coal Mining; Pneumoconiosis; Anthracosis; Dust; Coal; Silicon Dioxide; Fibrosis
PubMed: 35732247
DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108232 -
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences :... Jan 2021
Review
Topics: Animals; Disease Susceptibility; Gene Expression Profiling; Genomics; Humans; Metabolomics; Pneumoconiosis; Proteomics; RNA
PubMed: 33531110
DOI: 10.3967/bes2021.010 -
Clinical Imaging May 2023The radiological patterns of known pneumoconiosis have been changing in recent years. The basic pathology in pneumoconiosis is the presence of dust macules, mixed dust... (Review)
Review
The radiological patterns of known pneumoconiosis have been changing in recent years. The basic pathology in pneumoconiosis is the presence of dust macules, mixed dust fibrosis, nodules, diffuse interstitial fibrosis, and progressive massive fibrosis. These pathologic changes can coexist in dust-exposed workers. High resolution CT reflects pathological findings in pneumoconiosis and is useful for the diagnosis. Pneumoconiosis such as silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, graphite pneumoconiosis, and welder's pneumoconiosis, has predominant nodular HRCT pattern. Diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis is sometimes found in the lungs of this pneumoconiosis. In the early stages of metal lung, such as aluminosis and hard metal lung, centrilobular nodules are predominant findings, and in the advanced stages, reticular opacities are predominant findings. The clinician must understand the spectrum of expected imaging patterns related to known dust exposures and novel exposures. In this article, HRCT and pathologic findings of pneumoconiosis with predominant nodular opacities are shown.
Topics: Humans; Pneumoconiosis; Silicosis; Lung; Dust; Pulmonary Fibrosis
PubMed: 36878176
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2023.02.010