Calcified interlobar pleural plaques: visceral pleural involvement due to asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Calcified interlobar pleural plaques: visceral pleural involvement due to asbestos, by E.N. Sargent, J.S. Felton, L.T. Barnes (Radiology, 1981).

The study

• Authors: E.N. Sargent, J.S. Felton, L.T. Barnes
• Journal: Radiology
• Published: 1981;140(3):634
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 002018).

Abstract

Visceral pleural involvement, seen as interlobar thickening and bilateral calcified plaques in the major interlobar fissures, was observed as a result of exposure to asbestos dust. This is in contrast to the parietal pleural involvement seen in most cases.

In plain English

This article was a short radiology case report about one patient. A 57-year-old man had been heavily exposed to asbestos dust while working intermittently as an insulator and shipyard worker for more than 40 years. The article did not name the asbestos fiber type. The man had a cough and shortness of breath that worsened with physical activity. Lung function tests from 1976 to 1979 showed a significant decrease in vital capacity and FEV1 (a breathing measure) and restrictive lung impairment, which the authors described as consistent with inhaling asbestos fibers. Chest X-rays showed calcified pleural plaques on both sides at the lower end of each major fissure (the main grooves between the lung lobes). They also showed extensive plaques along the chest wall and a large sheet-like calcified plaque over the heart shadow. Round shadows on the front view had previously been thought to be nipple shadows. The authors stated that, to the best of their knowledge, calcified plaques in the major fissures had not been described before. They presented the case as asbestos-related involvement of the visceral pleura, the lining covering the lung itself. As a single case, it describes what was found in one person, not how often this occurs.

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 (radiographic exhibit)
• Who was studied: one 57-year-old man; the article does not say where or when the exposure took place, apart from lung function testing from 1976 to 1979
• Exposure: heavy exposure to asbestos dust while working intermittently as an insulator and shipyard worker for more than 40 years; fiber type not stated
• Main results:
  • The patient had a cough and shortness of breath (dyspnea) made worse by physical activity
  • Lung function screening from 1976 to 1979 showed a significant decrease in vital capacity and FEV1 and restrictive lung impairment, described by the authors as consistent with inhaling asbestos fibers
  • Chest X-rays showed calcified pleural plaques on both sides at the lower end of each major fissure, plus extensive plaques in the costal pleural reflections of the chest wall
  • The lateral X-ray also showed a large sheet-like calcified plaque over the heart shadow
  • Round opaque areas seen on the front (PA) X-ray had previously been thought to be nipple shadows
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that, to the best of their knowledge, calcified plaques in the major fissures had not been described before. They presented the case as visceral pleural involvement due to asbestos.

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, Bilateral.

Related studies

• Calcified plaques on mediastinal pleural reflections associated with asbestos dust exposure: four case reports — A. Solomon, G.K. Sluis-Cremer, et al. (1984)
• Calcified plaque in the superior portion of the major fissure. An unusual manifestation of asbestos exposure — S.B. Rupp, H. Jolles (1989)
• Subpleural fat pads in patients exposed to asbestos: distinction from non-calcified pleural plaques — E.N. Sargent, W.D. Boswell, et al. (1984)
• Visceral pleural thickening in asbestos exposure: the occurrence and implications of thickened interlobar fissures — S.D. Rockoff, E. Kagan, et al. (1987)
• Pleural plaques: a signpost of asbestos dust inhalation — E.N. Sargent, G. Jacobson, et al. (1977)
• CT demonstration of interlobar fissure calcification due to asbestos exposure — S.D. Rockoff (1987)

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