Silicosis Caused by Chronic Inhalation of Snail Shell Powder.
10.3346/jkms.2012.27.1.93
- Author:
Jae Woo JUNG
1
;
Byung Ook LEE
;
Jae Hee LEE
;
Sung Woon PARK
;
Bo Min KIM
;
Jae Chol CHOI
;
Jong Wook SHIN
;
In Won PARK
;
Byoung Whui CHOI
;
Jae Yeol KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jykimmd@cau.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Reports
- Keywords:
Snail;
Pneumoconiosis;
Silicosis
- MeSH:
Aged;
Animals;
Carbon/chemistry;
*Dust;
Female;
Humans;
*Inhalation;
Silicon Dioxide/chemistry;
Silicosis/*diagnosis/radiography;
Snails/*chemistry;
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission;
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2012;27(1):93-95
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
A 70-yr-old woman visited our hospital for shortness of breath. Chest CT showed ground glass opacity and traction bronchiectasis at right middle, lower lobe and left lingular division. Video-assisted thoracic surgical biopsy at right lower lobe and pathologic examination revealed mixed dust pneumoconiosis. Polarized optical microscopy showed lung lesions were consisted of silica and carbon materials. She was a housewife and never been exposed to silica dusts occupationally. She has taken freshwater snails as a health-promoting food for 40 yr and ground shell powder was piled up on her backyard where she spent day-time. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of snail shell and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy of lung lesion revealed that silica occupies important portion. Herein, we report the first known case of silicosis due to chronic inhalation of shell powder of freshwater snail.
