Silicosis ; diagnosis ; Terminology as Topic

Bronchiolitis ; diagnosis ; Haemophilus Infections ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Silicosis ; diagnosis

Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Silicosis ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Talc ; adverse effects

Aged ; Diagnostic Errors ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonectomy ; Silicosis ; diagnosis ; surgery

The classification for pneumoconiosis which was developed by International Labour Office(ILO) on the basis of Radiological findings of simple chest radiography has been widely used for the study and diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. But many problems have been revealed during the pneumoconiosis study using this classification. Those problems come from simple radiography itself or classification systems. Among those, inter-reader and intra-reader variability are the severest problems, even though many efforts have been devoted to lessen the variability. With introduction of computed tomography (conventional CT and HRCT), we are learning many new aspects about the occupational lung diseases, especially pneumoconiosis. So the studies for pneumoconiosis using tomography are reviewed, focusing on silicosis, coalworkers' pneumoconiosis, and asbestosis. But in our country, the studies of that kind are very scant. It is necessary to study and diagnose pneumoconiosis by CT, because that is the need of workers and the responsibility of physicians working in the field of occupational medicine. CT is superior to simple radiography in early detection, determination of severity, and follow-up of pneumoconiosis. But simple radiography is and should be the main method for the study and diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. Although, because of radiation hazard, cost, time, and geographical availability, the method can not and should not be used on the routine basis, we have to consider the use of CT, if possible and if necessary. Before using CT widely, we should develop the standardized criteria regarding to scanning methods and reading criteria. If not, the same problems as those of simple radiography will be occurred, and then there will be no progress in occupational medicine and workers' health.
Asbestosis ; Classification ; Diagnosis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Learning ; Lung Diseases ; Occupational Medicine ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Radiography* ; Silicosis ; Thorax

Aged ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Severity of Illness Index ; Silicosis ; diagnosis ; immunology

Adult ; Aspergillosis ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Diagnostic Errors ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Fungal ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Male ; Silicosis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Silicotuberculosis ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; diagnosis ; etiology

PURPOSE:The International Labor Organization (ILO) has established an international standard for chest X-ray diagnosis of pneumoconiosis since 1980. However, there is a need for improved diagnosis and staging in occupational disease. We evaluated Ga-67 citrate scintigraphy quantitatively and correlated the scintigraphic findings with pulmonary function tests and chest X-ray result. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients underwent whole body scintigraphy with additional chest and abdomen images 48 hrs after intravenous injection of 185 MBq of Ga-67 citrate. Ten normal controls were also studied. Regions of interest (ROI) were drawn on the posterior image to measure counts from the liver and lungs (Lung/Liver Ratio). RESULTS: L/L ratio according to the stages of chest X-ray classification were as follows; stage 0 (normal, n=10): 0.3948+/-0.0692, stage 1 (n=10): 0.5763+/-0.1837, stage 2 (n=11): 0.6849+/-0.1459, stage 3 (n=4): 0.9913+/-0.0712. There was a significant correlation between the scintigraphic L/L ratio and the X-ray stage (r=0.618, p<0.05). However, no significant correlation between L/L ratio and pulmonary function tests were observed (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Quantitative Ga-67 scintigraphy can be a useful method for staging of silicosis. However, it is not a method to assess pulmonary functional impairment.
Abdomen ; Citric Acid ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Injections, Intravenous ; Liver ; Lung ; Occupational Diseases ; Pneumoconiosis ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Silicosis* ; Thorax*

Artificial quartz dust exposure may cause associated pneumoconiosis. From November 2019 to July 2020, a total of 27 cases of silicosis associated with artificial quartz stone manufacturers were diagnosed and treated in the Occupational disease Department of Suzhou Fifth People's Hospital. The average age of onset was (46.8±6.6) years, and the average working age of dust exposure was (5.7±1.7) years.The main feature of high KV chest radiography is P/S shadow with strip shadow. CT imaging findings showed diffuse small nodules and ground glass shadows with band shadows. The lesions were mainly distributed in the upper lung, accompanied by pleural thickening, lymphadenopathy and calcification. The pulmonary function impairment was mainly mild restrictive ventilation disorder, and the bronchial mucosa longitudinal plica was the main manifestation under tracheoscopy. The age of silicosis of workers in artificial quartz stone production enterprises is younger, the working age of dust exposure is short, the lung function and bronchial mucosa have a certain degree of damage, and effective preventive measures should be taken in time.
Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dust ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects* ; Pneumoconiosis/complications* ; Quartz/analysis* ; Silicosis/diagnosis*

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.
Aged ; Animals ; Carbon/chemistry ; *Dust ; Female ; Humans ; *Inhalation ; Silicon Dioxide/chemistry ; Silicosis/*diagnosis/radiography ; Snails/*chemistry ; Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed