Asbestos and idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos and idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis, by J.C. Boulard, T. Hanslik, L.M. Doleris, et al (Lancet, 1995).

The study

• Authors: J.C. Boulard, T. Hanslik, L.M. Doleris, J. Prinseau, A. Baglin
• Journal: Lancet
• Published: 1995;345(8961):1379
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

In this letter, the authors noted that retroperitoneal fibrosis had previously been reported alongside diffuse pleural thickening in one asbestos-exposed patient. They described two more men previously exposed to asbestos who had retroperitoneal fibrosis with evidence of pleural involvement. The first, a 51-year-old man who had worked for 25 years in road building, was admitted with acute renal failure. Abdominal echography and magnetic resonance imaging showed retroperitoneal fibrosis blocking both ureters. He refused biopsy. Steroid therapy relieved the ureteral obstruction immediately and his kidney function returned to normal. His chest radiographs showed bilateral calcified pleural plaques on the diaphragm, which the authors described as typical of asbestos exposure. The second, a 54-year-old man, had maintained the boiler of a thermal power station in the car industry and had been exposed to asbestos for 20 years. He presented with renal failure due to retroperitoneal fibrosis. His chest radiographs showed chronic pleural thickening on one side, and his kidney function improved with steroid therapy. In neither man did the authors find any of the usual causes of retroperitoneal fibrosis, such as tumour, injury, aneurysm, infection, radiation or medicines. They cited necropsy findings of asbestos bodies in most organs, including retroperitoneal organs, and the link between asbestos and peritoneal mesothelioma. They suggested that asbestos might cause retroperitoneal fibrosis and proposed that the search for its cause should include systematic inquiry into asbestos exposure.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This was a letter to the editor in which the authors, from a hospital department of internal medicine and nephrology in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, described two men previously exposed to asbestos who developed retroperitoneal fibrosis, a scarring at the back of the abdomen. The first, aged 51, had worked 25 years in road building and was admitted with acute renal failure. Imaging showed retroperitoneal fibrosis blocking both ureters. This patient refused a biopsy. Steroids relieved the blockage and kidney function returned to normal. Chest x-rays showed calcified pleural plaques on both sides of the diaphragm, which the authors called typical of asbestos exposure. The second, aged 54, had been exposed to asbestos for 20 years maintaining a boiler at a thermal power station. He had renal failure from retroperitoneal fibrosis and chronic pleural thickening on one side, and his kidney function improved with steroids. The authors found none of the usual causes in either man. They concluded that asbestos might be a cause of retroperitoneal fibrosis and proposed systematic inquiry into asbestos exposure. The letter reported only these two cases and gave no rates.

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: letter to the editor reporting two cases (case report)
• Who was studied: two men, aged 51 and 54, with previous asbestos exposure, seen by the authors' hospital department in Boulogne-Billancourt, France; no dates given
• Exposure: asbestos exposure, fiber type not stated; first man employed 25 years in road building; second man exposed for 20 years in maintenance of the boiler of a thermal power station in the car industry
• Main results:
  • first patient (51 years old): acute renal failure; imaging showed retroperitoneal fibrosis with bilateral ureteral obstruction; patient refused biopsy
  • first patient: steroid therapy brought immediate ureteral decompression and normal kidney function
  • first patient: chest radiographs showed bilateral diaphragmatic calcified pleural plaques, described by the authors as typical of asbestos exposure
  • second patient (54 years old): renal failure due to retroperitoneal fibrosis; chest radiographs showed unilateral chronic pleural thickening
  • second patient: kidney function improved under steroid therapy
  • in neither patient did the authors find any of the usual causes of retroperitoneal fibrosis (such as tumour, injury, aneurysm, infection, radiation or medicines)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that asbestos might be a cause of retroperitoneal fibrosis and proposed that the search for the cause of retroperitoneal fibrosis should include systematic inquiry into asbestos exposure

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Pleural plaques and thickening.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Idiopathic, Fibrosis, Diffuse Pleural Thickening, Biopsy, Chest X-Ray, Bilateral, Pleural Plaques, Diaphragm.

Related studies

• Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis: an update for nephrologists — V. Raglianti, G.M. Rossi, et al. (2021)
• Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis: prospective evaluation of incidence and clinicoradiologic presentation — E.F.H. van Bommel, I. Jansen, et al. (2009)
• Asbestos and smoking as risk factors for idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis: a case-control study — M. Goldoni, S. Bonini, et al. (2014)
• Syndrome of pleural and retrosternal "bridging" fibrosis and retroperitoneal fibrosis in patients with asbestos exposure — V. Cottin, P.Y. Brillet, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos-related pleural and lung fibrosis in patients with retroperitoneal fibrosis — T. Uibu, R. Järvenpää, et al. (2008)
• IGG4-Related Pleural Bridging Fibrosis, Retrosternal Fibrosclerosis and Retroperitoneal Fibrosis in an Asbestos-Exposed Patient — P.P.T.E.S. Torres, L.B.M. Fonseca, et al. (2019)

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