Analysis of ferruginous bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage from foundry workers

Our plain-English summary of Analysis of ferruginous bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage from foundry workers, by R.F. Dodson, M. O'Sullivan, C.J. Corn, et al (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1993).

The study

• Authors: R.F. Dodson, M. O'Sullivan, C.J. Corn, J.G. Garcia, J.M. Stocks, D.E. Griffith
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1993;50(11):1032-8
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Classical ferruginous bodies in tissue samples are considered to be markers of past exposure to asbestos. Recent studies have shown that the presence of ferruginous bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid correlates with past exposure to asbestos and offers a more sensitive reference than occupational history. Lavage samples from five subjects who had worked in foundries were evaluated by light microscopy for the presence of ferruginous bodies and by transmission electron microscopy for both characterisation of the uncoated fibre burden and analysis of the cores of the ferruginous bodies. All samples at lower magnification (light microscopy (200 x)) contained ferruginous bodies that were externally consistent with asbestos bodies. At higher magnification (400 x), a separate population from this group could be identified by the presence of a thin black ribbon. Transmission electron microscopy of the core materials of ferruginous bodies and comparable uncoated particulates supported the reliability of higher magnification light microscopy for distinguishing most of those non-asbestos cores; however, a population of transparent non-asbestos cored ferruginous bodies were also shown to exist.

In plain English

This study examined lung-washing (bronchoalveolar lavage) fluid from five east Texas men, aged 60 to 77, who had worked 20 to 31 years in foundries and iron reclamation plants. The authors described the work dust as mixed, possibly including asbestos and non-asbestos fibres. They sorted iron-coated "ferruginous bodies" into four types by light microscopy and analysed cores by electron microscopy. Clear-cored bodies resembling asbestos bodies (type A) were found in all five men. Table 2 gives them as 12% to 60% of fibre-cored bodies, though the text calls this a share of all ferruginous bodies. Of 52 type A bodies analysed, eight had amosite asbestos cores, two fibreglass and six sheet silicates. Thirty-seven were totally coated and gave only iron signals. The black filament or rod cores of types B and C were considered amorphous organic material. Types B and C together made up over 65% of fibre-cored bodies in four men and 40% in the fifth. Uncoated chrysotile or amosite fibres were found in four of the five men. The authors concluded that bodies formed on non-asbestos fibres can greatly exceed classical asbestos bodies in such exposures.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory study of bronchoalveolar lavage samples from five patients (a small case series), analysed by light microscopy and electron microscopy
• Who was studied: Five men who had worked 20 to 31 years in foundries and iron reclamation plants. All were from non-urban areas of east Texas, aged 60 to 77 (average 66). Two were non-smokers and three were former smokers.
• Exposure: Foundry work: a mixed dust environment described as potentially containing fibrous dusts (asbestos and non-asbestos) and non-fibrous dusts
• Main results:
  • Clear-cored (type A) ferruginous bodies consistent with asbestos bodies were found by light microscopy in all five patients.
  • Table 2 shows type A (classical) ferruginous bodies as 12% to 60% of the fibre-cored ferruginous bodies (types A, B and C) in the five patients. The Results text describes the same range as a share of the total ferruginous body burden.
  • Type B and C bodies (black cores) together made up over 65% of the ferruginous bodies formed on elongated cores in four of the five patients, and 40% in the fifth.
  • The thin filament core of type B bodies was difficult or impossible to see at lower magnification.
  • Type D bodies (formed on odd-shaped particles) were the most numerous ferruginous bodies in three of the five patients.
  • By electron microscopy, 52 apparently classical (type A) bodies were analysed. Eight were formed on amosite asbestos, two on fibreglass and six on thin elongated sheet silicates.
  • Thirty-seven of the type A bodies analysed were totally coated, and x ray analysis of them gave only iron peaks.
  • The exposed black filament cores of 60 type B bodies gave no x ray peaks and were considered amorphous organic material. The central area of the type C bodies was considered the same.
  • The cores of 140 type D bodies were confirmed to be mixed dust, including carbon material, silica, titanium and various silicates.
  • Uncoated chrysotile or amosite asbestos fibres were found in lavage samples from four of the five patients. Fibreglass fibres were found in two patients.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, in such mixed dust exposures, ferruginous bodies formed on non-asbestos fibres can greatly outnumber classical asbestos bodies.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • For the totally coated bodies, x ray analysis showed only iron. The authors said this means the core was iron or carbon, or was shielded by the coating, so these cores could not be identified with certainty.
  • The authors stated that bodies formed on sheet silicates (and fibreglass) could not be told apart from asbestos bodies with the light microscope.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Ferruginous Bodies, Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL), Occupational History, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Asbestos Bodies.

Related studies

• Asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of brake lining and asbestos cement workers — P. Dumortier, P. De Vuyst, et al. (1990)
• Erionite bodies and fibres in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of residents from Tuzköy, Cappadocia, Turkey — P. Dumortier, L. Coplü, et al. (2001)
• Asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage in relation to asbestos bodies and asbestos fibres in lung parenchyma — A. Karjalainen, R. Piipari, et al. (1996)
• Fibres and asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of asbestos sprayers — T. Tuomi, P. Oksa, et al. (1992)
• Diagnostic value of asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid — P. De Vuyst, P. Dumortier, et al. (1987)
• Distribution of asbestos bodies in the human lung as determined by bronchoalveolar lavage — H. Teschler, N. Konietzko, et al. (1993)

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