OBJECTIVES To verify in vivo whether lung cinescintigraphy confirms the effect of asbestos on the patency of the smallest airways and on the efficiency of mucociliary clearance in asbestos cement workers. METHODS 39 male subjects were examined: 30 asbestos cement workers and nine workers never exposed to occupational respiratory irritants. All subjects had a chest radiograph (International La...

AIM To examine the presence of radiologically visible lung and pleural changes in patients who were exposed to the asbestos dust, and to correlate the progression of these changes with the duration and intensity of exposure and smoking. We also evaluated possible correlation between non-malignant asbestos-related pleural abnormalities and the occurrence of malignant pleural mesothelioma. METH...

OBJECTIVES This report provides an update of the mortality experience of a cohort of South Carolina asbestos textile workers. METHODS A cohort of 3072 workers exposed to chrysotile in a South Carolina asbestos textile plant (1916-77) was followed up for mortality through 2001. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed using US and South Carolina mortality rates. A job exposure matrix...

We present a case of progressive interstitial fibrosis in a retired shipyard worker who was exposed to asbestos during the postwar era of the late 1940s and 1950s, when asbestos exposures in the workplace were not regulated. Forty years later, at 63 years of age, the patient presented with restrictive lung disease. The patient was diagnosed with asbestos-related pleural disease and parenchymal ...

Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers or silica particles continues to be an important cause of interstitial lung disease. Although more stringent control of asbestos in the workplace and decreasing industrial use has contributed to declines in the prevalence of asbestosis in the United States (1), new cases continue to be identified. Similarly, silicosis i...

BACKGROUND Crackles are a prominent clinical feature of asbestosis and may be an early sign of the condition. Auscultation, however, is subjective and interexaminer disagreement is a problem. Computerised lung sound analysis can visualise, store, and analyse lung sounds and disagreement on the presence of crackles is minimal. High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is superior to chest radio...

BACKGROUND Of an estimated 100,000 workers exposed to asbestos in India, less than 30 have been compensated. The reasons for such a small number are: refusal by management sponsored studies to grant medical certifications to workers suffering from occupational diseases, lack of training for doctors in diagnosis of occupational lung diseases, deliberate misdiagnosis by doctors of asbestosis as e...

More compatible with 'cryptic miliary tuberculosis' To the Editor—I read with interest the case report published by Shea and Ip titled " Pulmonary tuberculosis complicating asbestosis ". 1 On reading the details, I could not agree on the authors' interpretation of the findings and the diagnosis of asbestosis. While it is beyond doubt that the findings of calcified pleural plaques point towards ...

This surveillance report examines trends in selected pneumoconioses in the U.S. for 1968–2005 and their relationship with past indicators of extent of exposure. Numbers of deaths with asbestosis, silicosis, and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) were tabulated by time and age at death. Worker monitoring CWP prevalence data were tabulated by tenure group. Information on indicators of extent and ...

Asbestosis is a debilitating, chronic, lung disease with no known treatment and most commonly occurs among workers in certain occupational settings. As a condition highly associated with occupational exposure, its incidence has been affected by changes in industry standards. In particular, the bans on both production and new uses of asbestos fibers put in place during the past 20 to 30 years ha...