Occupational lung disease Flashcards
Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis
Caused by dust particles 2-5um in diameter that get stuck in the alveoli and small airways
Causes two very different syndromes:
- Simple pnemoconiosis
- Progressive massive fibrosis
What is simple pnemoconiosis?
Syndrome caused by coal inhalation
Reflects the accumulation of coal dust in the lung with 3 categories of severity relating to how much of the lung contains small round opacities
Can progress to progressive massive fibrosis
What is progressive massive fibrosis?
Syndrome caused by inhalation of coal dust
Patients develop round fibrotic masses, several cm wide and almost always in the upper lobes
Results in emphysema and airway damage
Sputum may be black
Disease can progress even in the absence of coal
May lead to respiratory failure
What is silicosis?
Uncommon disease
Stonemasons, sand blasters, pottery and ceramic workers
Caused by the inhalation of silica, the dust is highly fibrogenic - 3g of silica dust is enough to kill
Silica is toxic to alveolar macrophages and readily induces firbosis
Chest x-ray appears similar to PMF but also shows distinctive streaks of calcification around hilar LNs known as eggshell calcification
Types of asbestos
Chrysotile: 90%, white fibres
Crocidolite: 6%, blue fibres, the type most likely to cause asbestosis and meothelioma
What is asbestosis?
Fibrosis of the lungs caused by asbestos dust
Progressive disease characterised by breathlessness
Finger clubbing, bilateral basal end-inspiratory crackles
No treatment is known to alter disease progression
What is mesothelioma?
Cancer of lung lining associated with asbestos exposure
Most common presentation is pleural effusion with persistent chest wall pain
What is byssinosis?
Occupational lung disease caused by cotton dust
No chanegs to chest x-ray
What is berylliosis?
Occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of beryllium
Associated with aerospace manufacturing, microwave semiconductor electronics, beryllium mining or manufacturing of fluorescent light bulbs
