Asbestos-related pleural plaques

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related pleural plaques, by C.K. Lim, Y.F. Chen (QJM, 2014).

The study

• Authors: C.K. Lim, Y.F. Chen
• Journal: QJM
• Published: 2014;107(5):403-4
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short article, from the 'Clinical picture' section of QJM, was a case report about one patient. The authors worked at hospitals in Taiwan. The patient was an 85-year-old man with type 2 diabetes who came to the authors' clinic with several months of dry cough and shortness of breath on exertion. His oxygen saturation on room air was 92%, and fine crackles were heard at the bases of both lungs. A chest X-ray and a CT scan showed calcified pleural plaques, mostly along the lower and side parts of the pleura, the lining around the lungs. A lung function test 5 years earlier had shown moderate restrictive defects. He had worked as a stonemason for more than 30 years. Based on his occupation, examination, lung function test and imaging, asbestos-related pleural plaque was diagnosed. The article did not name a fiber type or describe how his work involved asbestos. He received long-term oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation and could manage daily activities by himself. The remaining text gave background drawn from earlier published reviews.

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: Case report (a single patient, published as a 'Clinical picture' item)
• Who was studied: One 85-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus seen at the authors' clinic. The authors were based at hospitals in Taiwan. No dates are given.
• Exposure: Work as a stonemason for more than 30 years. The article does not name an asbestos fiber type, product or exposure measurement.
• Main results:
  • The patient had dry cough and shortness of breath on exertion for several months.
  • The patient's oxygen saturation on room air was 92%.
  • Fine crackles at the end of breathing in were heard at the bases of both lungs.
  • Chest X-ray and CT showed calcified pleural plaques, mostly along the basal and lateral parts of the pleura.
  • A lung function test done 5 years earlier had shown moderate restrictive ventilation defects.
  • Asbestos-related pleural plaque was diagnosed on the basis of occupation, physical examination, lung function test and imaging.
  • After long-term oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation, the patient was able to carry out daily activities by himself.
• The authors' conclusion: The article gives no separate conclusion about this case beyond the diagnosis. In closing background remarks that cite an earlier published review, the authors stated that no treatment can effectively alter the natural course of asbestos-related lung disease.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Plaques.

Related studies

• Pleural plaques: only an imagiologic finding? — P. Almeida, A. Araújo (2019)
• Atherosclerotic and pleural calcifications are related among asbestos-exposed workers — T. Vehmas, A. Hiltunen, et al. (2008)
• Pleural plaques: a signpost of asbestos dust inhalation — E.N. Sargent, G. Jacobson, et al. (1977)
• Pleural fibrocalcific plaques and asbestos exposure — L.O. Meurman (1968)
• Multiple pleural plaques. II — H.C. Anton (1968)
• Calcified interlobar pleural plaques: visceral pleural involvement due to asbestos — E.N. Sargent, J.S. Felton, et al. (1981)

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