Pleural calcification in pancreatitis demonstrated by computed tomography

Our plain-English summary of Pleural calcification in pancreatitis demonstrated by computed tomography, by G.M. Bydder, L. Kreel (Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 1981).

The study

• Authors: G.M. Bydder, L. Kreel
• Journal: Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography
• Published: 1981;5(2):161-3
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Three cases of pleural calcification associated with pancreatitis are reported, each of which showed bilateral basal curvilinear calcification. There was no known history of asbestos exposure. Although pleural effusion due to pancreatitis is well known, pleural calcification has not been recognized previously as a complication of this disease.

In plain English

This article was a case report of three patients with pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) who also had calcification of the pleura, the lining around the lungs. The authors, radiologists at two London hospitals, said they found this in three of 53 patients with pancreatitis they reviewed using computed tomography (CT) scans. The patients were men aged 65, 54 and 78. They had worked as a publican, a builder and an interior decorator. The authors reported no known history of asbestos exposure for the first two men, and no history of industrial exposure to noxious agents for the third. In each case the scans showed calcification curving along the lower pleura on both sides. The authors wrote that this looked similar to what is seen in asbestosis. However, the men had no industrial history pointing to that disease, and their chest scans and X-rays showed no plaques elsewhere in the chest. Fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion) is a known complication of pancreatitis. The authors suggested that calcification is "not an unlikely sequel" of chronic or recurrent effusions, and said it had not previously been recognized as a complication of pancreatitis.

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 (case series of three patients), drawn from a review of CT scans of patients with pancreatitis
• Who was studied: Three men with pancreatitis, aged 65, 54 and 78, identified among 53 patients with pancreatitis examined by CT at hospitals in London, England (Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, and Queen Mary's Hospital of the East End, Stratford); dates not given
• Exposure: The condition studied was pancreatitis, not asbestos. The patients were a publican, a builder and a retired interior decorator. The authors reported no known asbestos exposure in the first two and no history of industrial exposure to noxious agents in the third.
• Main results:
  • Basal pleural calcification was found in 3 of 53 patients with pancreatitis examined by CT.
  • Case 1, a 65-year-old man with chronic pancreatitis confirmed by histology, initially showed basal pleural thickening with plaques of calcification. A CT scan 16 months later showed less pleural thickening but well-defined curvilinear basal pleural calcification.
  • Case 2, a 54-year-old builder with a 2-year history of recurrent abdominal pain, showed pleural thickening with bilateral curvilinear calcification, more marked on the right. There was no known history of asbestos exposure.
  • Case 3, a 78-year-old retired interior decorator with acute pancreatitis (serum amylase 6,450 IU; normal range 70 to 300), showed bilateral calcification of the diaphragmatic pleura. There was no history of industrial exposure to noxious agents.
  • The authors said the appearances were similar to those seen in asbestosis. However, there was no industrial history suggesting that disease and no plaque formation elsewhere in the chest on CT or chest X-ray.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors suggested that because pleural effusions in pancreatitis may be chronic or recurrent, pleural calcification is a plausible later consequence. They stated it had not previously been recognized as a complication of pancreatitis.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Calcification, Bilateral, Asbestos Exposure, Pleural Effusion.

Related studies

• CT demonstration of interlobar fissure calcification due to asbestos exposure — S.D. Rockoff (1987)
• The usefulness of computed tomography in detecting asbestos-related pleural abnormalities in people who had indeterminate chest radiographs: the Libby, MT, experience — O.I. Muravov, W.E. Kaye, et al. (2005)
• 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)
• Computed tomography in pulmonary asbestosis — D. Katz, L. Kreel (1979)

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