Pleural calcifications

Our plain-English summary of Pleural calcifications, by E. Marchiori, B. Hochhegger, G. Zanetti (Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, 2018).

The study

• Authors: E. Marchiori, B. Hochhegger, G. Zanetti
• Journal: Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia
• Published: 2018;44(6):447
• Type of article: Case report
• Language: Portuguese
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Summary of the article

This one-page imaging case, published in a continuing education section by authors from two Brazilian universities, described pleural calcifications found on chest CT in an 87-year-old man. The patient had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, had no respiratory complaints, and underwent chest CT as part of an outpatient assessment. The scan showed multiple pleural plaques, several of them partially calcified, including calcified plaques on the diaphragmatic pleura. The authors listed the usual causes of pleural calcification: fibrothorax secondary to hemothorax, thoracic empyema or tuberculous pleural effusion, and exposure to asbestos fibers. They noted that pleural calcification is not always benign. Metastases of osteosarcoma can appear as calcification, and talc used for pleurodesis can mimic calcification because of its high density. They stated that pleural plaques are highly suggestive of asbestos-related pleural disease, particularly when the diaphragmatic pleura is involved. They described plaques as usually asymptomatic but as a marker of asbestos exposure that indicates greater risk of pulmonary fibrosis or asbestos-related malignancies. They also summarized the main HRCT findings of asbestosis. They noted that although asbestos had recently been banned in Brazil, its complications will still be seen for decades because of the long interval between exposure and disease. People at risk include both those directly exposed and those living near mines. Questioning of the patient revealed that he had lived near an asbestos mine for many decades and had worked in it for a few years. The authors concluded that this history, together with the imaging findings, was conclusive for a diagnosis of asbestos-related pleural plaques.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This one-page article is an imaging case report from a journal's continuing-education section. It described an 87-year-old man with prostate cancer and no breathing complaints who had a chest CT scan as part of an outpatient assessment. The scan showed multiple pleural plaques (patches of thickened tissue on the lining around the lungs). Several were partly calcified, including plaques on the pleura covering the diaphragm. The authors described these calcified diaphragmatic plaques as virtually pathognomonic of asbestos exposure, meaning they point almost exclusively to that cause. When asked about his history, the man said he had lived near an asbestos mine for many decades and had worked in it for a few years. The authors concluded that this history, together with the imaging findings, was conclusive for a final diagnosis of asbestos-related pleural plaques. The article did not name the fiber type or say where the mine was. Because it reports on one person, it shows what was found in this patient, not how often plaques occur in people exposed to asbestos.

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, imaging continuing-education article)
• Who was studied: one 87-year-old man with prostate cancer and no respiratory complaints, who had a chest CT as part of an outpatient assessment; where and when the patient was seen is not stated
• Exposure: lived near an asbestos mine for many decades and worked in it for a few years; fiber type not stated
• Main results:
  • The patient had no respiratory complaints when the CT scan was done
  • The CT scan of the patient showed multiple pleural plaques, several of them partially calcified
  • The patient's calcified plaques involved the diaphragmatic pleura, which the authors described as virtually pathognomonic of asbestos exposure
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the patient's history of living near and working in an asbestos mine, together with the imaging findings, was conclusive for a final diagnosis of asbestos-related pleural plaques

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, Pleural Plaques, Pleura, Hemothorax, Empyema, Pleural Effusion, Talc, Pleurodesis.

Related studies

• Metsovo lung outside Metsovo. Endemic pleural calcifications in the ophiolite belts of Greece — S.H. Constantopoulos, P. Theodoracopoulos, et al. (1991)
• Tremolite whitewashing and pleural calcifications — S.H. Constantopoulos, N.A. Saratzis, et al. (1987)
• Atherosclerotic and pleural calcifications are related among asbestos-exposed workers — T. Vehmas, A. Hiltunen, et al. (2008)
• CT demonstration of interlobar fissure calcification due to asbestos exposure — S.D. Rockoff (1987)
• Pleural calcification in pancreatitis demonstrated by computed tomography — G.M. Bydder, L. Kreel (1981)
• Pleural calcification, pleural mesotheliomas, and bronchial cancers caused by tremolite dust — S. Yazicioglu, R. Ilçayto, et al. (1980)

Browse more research in Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, or return to medical research.