Controversy in Detection

In many countries, the work of mining, quarrying, construction of tunnels and galleries, abrasive jet cleaning and smelting continue to present significant risks of silica exposure and silicosis epidemics still occur, even in developed countries. Patients with silicosis are particularly susceptible to opportunistic lung infections such as aspergillosis and tuberculosis. Occasionally silicosis is associated with scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, nephritis and cancer. Early detection of silicosis is made by chest X-ray method, being the presence of rounded opacities the main sign of illness. However, no systematic information is available that allows use as a standard method of evaluation because their interpretation remains operator dependent both conventional radiological technique, digital and interpretation of computed tomography with high resolution.