CT demonstration of interlobar fissure calcification due to asbestos exposure

Our plain-English summary of CT demonstration of interlobar fissure calcification due to asbestos exposure, by S.D. Rockoff (Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 1987).

The study

• Author: S.D. Rockoff
• Journal: Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography
• Published: 1987;11(6):1066-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 7 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. 000995).

Abstract

This is the second report of calcification of the major fissure in asbestos-related pleural disease and the first in which CT was necessary to visualize its presence. This case illustrates that CT may have an additional important use in the radiologic evaluation of individuals who have had asbestos exposure.

In plain English

This is a case report describing one patient: a 54-year-old man who had worked continuously with asbestos materials for 30 years (the article does not name the fiber type or the job). He had progressive shortness of breath on exertion and a productive cough, and had smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day since age 15. Lung function tests showed mild obstructive disease. Chest X-rays from 1970 to 1984 showed progressive interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, small uncalcified parietal pleural plaques on both sides, and thickening of the lower part of both major fissures (the dividing lines between lung lobes), more marked on the left, but no calcification. CT scanning confirmed the fissure thickening and showed calcification in the lower part of the left major fissure, extending into the pleura over the diaphragm. The author described this as the second reported case of asbestos-related calcification of the major fissure and the first seen only on CT. The author suggested that wider use of CT may show that such calcification is more common than previously suspected.

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 (single patient)
• Who was studied: one 54-year-old man with progressive shortness of breath on exertion and a productive cough, a smoker of 2 packs of cigarettes a day since age 15; followed with serial chest radiographs from 1970 to 1984
• Exposure: 30 years of continuous work with asbestos materials; fiber type, products and specific job not stated
• Main results:
  • Pulmonary function studies showed mild obstructive disease with hyperinflation and no significant reversibility with bronchodilators
  • Serial chest radiography (1970 to 1984) showed progressive interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, especially in the lower lobes, and bilateral small uncalcified parietal pleural plaques
  • The lateral chest X-ray showed thickening of the lower part of both major fissures, more marked on the left; no calcification was seen on any plain chest film
  • CT showed thickening of the right minor fissure, confirmed thickening of both major fissures, and showed calcification of the lower part of the left major fissure extending into the diaphragmatic pleura
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded this is the second reported case of asbestos-induced calcification of the major fissure and the first seen only on CT, not on good quality chest radiography, and suggested that increased use of CT may reveal such calcification to be more common than previously suspected

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: Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos-Related Pleural Disease.

Related studies

• Pleural calcification in pancreatitis demonstrated by computed tomography — G.M. Bydder, L. Kreel (1981)
• Visceral pleural thickening in asbestos exposure: the occurrence and implications of thickened interlobar fissures — S.D. Rockoff, E. Kagan, et al. (1987)
• Tremolite whitewashing and pleural calcifications — S.H. Constantopoulos, N.A. Saratzis, et al. (1987)
• Pleural calcifications — E. Marchiori, B. Hochhegger, et al. (2018)
• Atherosclerotic and pleural calcifications are related among asbestos-exposed workers — T. Vehmas, A. Hiltunen, et al. (2008)
• Thickening of pulmonary interlobar fissures: exposure-response relationship in crocidolite and amosite miners — A. Solomon, L.M. Irwig, et al. (1979)

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