We have located links that may give you full text access.
CASE REPORTS
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Quartz exposures and severe silicosis: a role for the hilar nodes.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1998 June
BACKGROUND: Two stonemasons working together in an environment with high concentrations of quartz pursued very different clinical courses; one died of rapidly progressive silicosis and the other developed hilar adenopathy and, later, early massive fibrosis. The exposures to quartz of these two men were investigated to allow comment on the pathogenesis of severe silicosis relative to concentrations of dust.
METHODS: Estimates of exposure were based on previously taken personal dust samples, detailed lifetime occupational histories, and semiquantitative exposure modelling.
RESULTS: One of the men who died had a 30 year exposure estimated to have averaged < 0.1 mg/m3, leading to hilar node fibrosis and calcification, followed by a five year exposure to about 2 mg/m3 which proved fatal. Estimates of exposure tallied with postmortem measurement of lung burden, suggesting retention of all dust deposited in the lungs over his final period of work. The younger man, working from the start of his apprenticeship alongside the older one, had a six year exposure to about 1.5 mg/m3, which caused hilar node enlargement and subsequent calcification but minimal lung involvement.
CONCLUSIONS: Exposures to relatively low concentrations of quartz may be capable of causing hilar node fibrosis, impairing the clearance of any quartz inhaled subsequently. The findings support the concept that destruction of the hilar nodes by silicotic fibrosis, impairing lung clearance, has an important pathogenic role in the development of massive fibrosis, and in men subsequently exposed to very high concentrations of respirable quartz, rapidly progressive silicosis.
METHODS: Estimates of exposure were based on previously taken personal dust samples, detailed lifetime occupational histories, and semiquantitative exposure modelling.
RESULTS: One of the men who died had a 30 year exposure estimated to have averaged < 0.1 mg/m3, leading to hilar node fibrosis and calcification, followed by a five year exposure to about 2 mg/m3 which proved fatal. Estimates of exposure tallied with postmortem measurement of lung burden, suggesting retention of all dust deposited in the lungs over his final period of work. The younger man, working from the start of his apprenticeship alongside the older one, had a six year exposure to about 1.5 mg/m3, which caused hilar node enlargement and subsequent calcification but minimal lung involvement.
CONCLUSIONS: Exposures to relatively low concentrations of quartz may be capable of causing hilar node fibrosis, impairing the clearance of any quartz inhaled subsequently. The findings support the concept that destruction of the hilar nodes by silicotic fibrosis, impairing lung clearance, has an important pathogenic role in the development of massive fibrosis, and in men subsequently exposed to very high concentrations of respirable quartz, rapidly progressive silicosis.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment.Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society 2024 April 12
Proximal versus distal diuretics in congestive heart failure.Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation 2024 Februrary 30
Efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy in chronic insomnia: A review of clinical guidelines and case reports.Mental Health Clinician 2023 October
World Health Organization and International Consensus Classification of eosinophilic disorders: 2024 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management.American Journal of Hematology 2024 March 30
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app