Exogenous particles in lymph nodes in patients with shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis

Our plain-English summary of Exogenous particles in lymph nodes in patients with shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis, by L. Dernevik (Thorax, 1985).

The study

• Author: L. Dernevik
• Journal: Thorax
• Published: 1985;40(12):948-51
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis is a disease in which a compression atelectasis of the lung is caused by shrinking of the inflamed visceral pleura. This reaction has been attributed to asbestos. By means of scanning electron microscopy, with computerised x ray spectrophotometry and x ray diffraction analysis, tissue samples from the lymph nodes of patients with the disease and control subjects were examined for other particles of possible aetiological importance. The results would suggest, however, that asbestos is the most important factor in the aetiology of shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis.

In plain English

This study from the University of Göteborg, Sweden, looked for dust particles in chest lymph nodes from people with shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis. In this condition a contracted, inflamed lining of the lung (the visceral pleura) traps a ball-shaped area of collapsed lung. The author examined stored lymph node samples from 12 patients who had had surgery for the condition. These were compared with samples from 12 control patients with limited lung cancer, matched for sex, age and smoking habit. Samples from both groups were studied by light microscopy and by electron microscopy with element analysis, and x ray diffraction was then used only on particles from the patients. Asbestos bodies were seen in samples from five patients and in none of the controls. Pure silica particles were found in seven patients (two with high concentrations) and six controls (one high). Composite silicon-containing particles were found in three patients and 11 controls. The author reported that the electron microscope analyses showed no differences between the two groups. The author concluded that there was no evidence that minerals other than asbestos are involved in causing the disease.

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: Comparison of lymph node tissue from patients with the disease and matched control patients, using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with element analysis for both groups, and x ray diffraction for the patients' particles only
• Who was studied: 12 patients who had previously had surgery for shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis, drawn from a series of 28 patients collected in 1970-80 in Göteborg, Sweden (11 men and 1 woman, mean age 60). They were compared with 12 control patients who had limited lung carcinomas without spread to the biopsied lymph nodes, matched for sex, age and smoking habit.
• Exposure: Asbestos bodies and other inhaled particles in mediastinal lymph nodes, mainly silica (quartz) and composite silicon-containing mineral particles. The article does not name an asbestos fiber type.
• Main results:
  • Asbestos bodies were seen in lymph node preparations from five of the patients with shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis and in none of the controls.
  • Pure silicon dioxide (silica) particles were found in samples from seven patients in the study group, with a high concentration in two of them.
  • Pure silica particles were found in six control patients, with a high concentration in one.
  • Composite particles containing silicon with aluminium, potassium, iron and titanium were found in three of the study group and in 11 of the controls.
  • The author reported that the electron microscope analyses showed no differences between the two groups, so x ray diffraction was done only on the patients' particles. That analysis confirmed the presence of silica.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that there is no evidence that minerals other than asbestos are involved in causing shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • X ray diffraction could not definitely identify the molecules in the composite particles.
  • In most cases the x ray diffraction results allowed more than one interpretation.
  • The absence of asbestos bodies on light microscopy does not rule out asbestos exposure.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Atelectasis, Visceral Pleura, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Related studies

• Shrinking pleuritis with atelectasis — L. Dernevik (1989)
• Asbestos content of lung tissue, lymph nodes, and pleural plaques from former shipyard workers — R.F. Dodson, M.G. Williams, et al. (1990)
• Intrapulmonary lymph nodes. Clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features — R.L. Kradin, P.W. Spirn, et al. (1985)
• Lymph node metastases in diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma — D. Baratti, S. Kusamura, et al. (2010)
• Hyperplastic mesothelial cells in lymph nodes: report of six cases of a benign process that can stimulate metastatic involvement by mesothelioma or carcinoma — P. Argani, J. Rosai (1998)
• A comparison of asbestos burden in lung parenchyma, lymph nodes, and plaques — R.F. Dodson, M.G. Williams, et al. (1991)

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