Learning objectives
This review aims at
Enumerating and discussing common as well as uncommon and new occupational lung diseases.
Illustrating and describing the imaging findings on HRCT.
Background
Occupational lung diseases refer to a group of disorders that result from accumulation of inhaled dust particles and chemicals affecting airways,
lung parenchyma or pleura.
Usually,
there is a long latency period between exposure and development of disease.
Diagnosis ofa single agent causing disease may be challenging because a single agent may produce multiple manifestations and a single disease may be produced by more than one agent.
For example,
asbestosis may manifest as pleural plaques,
benign pleural effusion,
diffuse pleural thickening,
round atelectasis,
lung cancer,...
Findings and procedure details
Chest radiography is traditionally one of the primary imaging modalities used.
However,
advent of HRCT offers greater resolution and allows more sensitive,
accurate detection and characterization of lung and pleural abnormalities.
PNEUMOCONIOSIS
Arecaused due to body's reaction to accumulation of dust in the lungs.
Silicosis
Grinder's disease/Potter's rot is a fibrotic lung disease caused by inhalation of silica (crystalline silicon-dioxide).
Latency period is about 10-30 years,
although it can develop faster in workers exposed to high quantities over shorter periods of time,
called accelerated silicosis.Occupations...
Conclusion
Workup of occupational lung diseases should begin with routine chest radiography,
the importance of which cannot be stressed enough.
The clinical presentation and thorough occupational exposure history along with characteristic HRCT findings improve the diagnostic accuracy of these diseases.
References
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American Thoracic Society.
Adverse effects of crystalline silicaexposure.
American thoracic society committee of the scientific assembly on environmental and occupational health.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med.
1997;155:761–768.
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Lynch,
D.A.,
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Gamsu,
and D.R.
Aberle,
Conventional and high resolution computed tomographyin the diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases.
Radiographics,
1989.
9(3): p.
523-51.
3.
Ward S,
Heyneman LE,
Reittner P,
et al.
Talcosisassociated with IV abuse of oral medications: CT findings.
AJR Am J Roentgenol 2000;174:789–93.
4.
Embil J,
Warren P,
Yakrus M,
et al....