Does the 1980 ILO classification of pneumoconiosis need a facelift?

Our plain-English summary of Does the 1980 ILO classification of pneumoconiosis need a facelift?, by K.H. Kilburn (Archives of Environmental Health, 1988).

The study

• Author: K.H. Kilburn
• Journal: Archives of Environmental Health
• Published: 1988;43(4):261-2
• Cited by: 3 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. 000917).

In plain English

This article is an editorial, not a research study. It reported on a workshop at which 30 scientists met in Athens to discuss improving the 1980 International Labour Office (ILO) classification of chest radiographs, a scale used for asbestosis, silicosis and coalworkers pneumoconiosis. A recurrent theme was making the decision between a positive and a negative film more precise, especially the 0/1 versus 1/0 decision for asbestosis. One proposal was to add three or four "boundary films" to the standard set. Participants also discussed clearer instructions for readers, whether films below quality 1 should be read at all, adding a lateral (side-view) chest film, how to classify asbestos-related pleural changes, and updating the "other disease" list. The author wrote that computerized interpretation should be explored. The author concluded that steps to improve the classification should be actively considered, and that many issues had been identified before a revision proposed for 1991. The author noted that it was sometimes hard to tell which proposals called for research and which for changes to the scheme.

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: Editorial reporting on an international workshop; no new data
• Who was studied: Thirty scientists at a workshop in Athens in mid-May, sponsored by the Collegium Ramazzini
• Exposure: Not a study of exposure. The subject is the ILO scale for classifying chest radiographs of asbestosis, silicosis and coalworkers pneumoconiosis.
• Main results:
  • A recurrent workshop theme was improving the precision of the 0/1 versus 1/0 decision for asbestosis.
  • A protocol was described for adding "boundary films", three or four films added to the standard 18 that define the mid-categories.
  • Instructions for readers should be improved, and there were questions about whether films below quality 1 should be interpreted.
  • Adding a lateral chest radiograph was suggested.
  • A key pleural question was whether to add obliteration of both costophrenic angles plus diffuse thickening as the most advanced pleural category.
  • Suggested additions to the "other disease" list included dilated aorta, surgical clips, staples and sutures, and bronchiectasis, as well as emphysema criteria.
  • The author wrote that computerized interpretation should be explored to reduce variability between and within readers.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that steps to improve the classification should be actively considered, with many issues identified before the proposed 1991 revision.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author noted that it was sometimes difficult to separate proposals for research from proposals for changes to the ILO scheme.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: ILO Classification, Pneumoconiosis.

Related studies

• Pneumoconiosis: comparison of imaging and pathologic findings — S. Chong, K.S. Lee, et al. (2006)
• Between- and within-reader variability in the assessment of pleural abnormality using the ILO 1980 international classification of pneumoconioses — J. Bourbeau, P. Ernst (1988)
• Induction of thoracic malignancy in inorganic dust pneumoconiosis — J.C. Scatarige, F.P. Stitik (1988)
• "Labrador lung": an unusual mixed dust pneumoconiosis — H.W. Edstrom, D.M. Rice (1982)
• Pleural lesions and the ILO classification: the need for a revision — G. Hillerdal (1991)
• Semantics and the application of the ILO classification: the need for recording visceral pleural manifestations separately — A. Solomon (2002)

Browse more research in Archives of Environmental Health, or return to medical research.