Asbestos-Related Pleural Disease

Asbestos-related pleural disease is the umbrella name for the non-cancerous changes asbestos causes in the pleura, the thin lining around the lungs. It covers pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, benign pleural effusion and rounded atelectasis. It is the most common sign of past asbestos exposure.

Origin

Calcified pleural plaques in asbestos workers were reported on X-rays in the 1930s and 1940s, and the link between asbestos and the other pleural changes was worked out over the following decades. Medical societies, including the American Thoracic Society in its statements on asbestos-related disease, group these conditions together because they share a cause and are read on the same imaging.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Pleural disease can follow lighter exposure than asbestosis and usually appears 20 or more years after exposure began. Plaques alone often cause no symptoms, but diffuse pleural thickening can restrict breathing, and an effusion can cause pain and shortness of breath. Doctors find these changes on chest X-rays and CT scans, and a B-reader records them on the ILO form. For a claim, the word that matters most is bilateral: pleural disease on both sides of the chest is strong evidence of asbestos exposure, and most asbestos trusts accept bilateral pleural disease (or asbestosis) as the underlying condition required for their lung cancer and other cancer levels. On its own, pleural disease can support a nonmalignant claim, though trusts pay these claims at modest values and some states limit lawsuits by people who are not impaired. Having pleural disease does not mean a cancer will follow, but it marks a person whose doctors should know the exposure history.

Example Sentence

Her CT showed calcified plaques on both sides of the chest, which her lung doctor recorded as bilateral asbestos-related pleural disease.

Related Terms

Pleural Plaques, Diffuse Pleural Thickening, Benign Asbestos Pleural Effusion, Rounded Atelectasis, Bilateral, B-Read, ILO Classification, Pleura

Notes

• Ask your doctor to write down in the record whether the pleural changes are on one side or both; trusts look for bilateral disease.
• Keep copies of every chest X-ray and CT report, and any B-read reports.
• Pleural disease is a reason to tell every new doctor about your asbestos exposure.
• If a cancer is later diagnosed, earlier records of pleural disease can be important evidence.