Pulmonary asbestosis: radiologic-pathologic brief report

Our plain-English summary of Pulmonary asbestosis: radiologic-pathologic brief report, by C.S. Ahn, S.J. Kim, S.J. Oh, et al (Yonsei Medical Journal, 1997).

The study

• Authors: C.S. Ahn, S.J. Kim, S.J. Oh, K.J. Park, H.J. Kim, C.M. Ahn, H.K. Kim, D.H. Shin, S.H. Cho, K.M. Yang
• Journal: Yonsei Medical Journal
• Published: 1997;38(5):323-6
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Pulmonary asbestosis is defined as bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. Many occupations are at risk for asbestos exposure, particularly in the mining, milling, manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, and automotive industries. Therefore, the prevalence of asbestosis should be fairly widespread. The diagnosis of asbestosis can be made on either clinical or pathological grounds. We recently encountered one case of asbestosis which was confirmed histologically. On HRCT, there was ground-glass opacity with irregular linear shadows, subpleural curvilinear lines and parenchymal bands. Neither plaque nor calcification were noted. The histologic findings observed on open-lung biopsy specimen were well in accord with those in HRCT. Many asbestos-coated bodies were present along with black dust.

In plain English

This was a case report from Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, describing one patient with asbestosis confirmed by lung biopsy. The authors stated that, to their knowledge, no such tissue-proven case had been reported in Korea before. The patient, a 60-year-old Korean man, had worked for 20 years at a company making brake linings with chrysotile asbestos. He had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 25 years. His shortness of breath and cough had begun five years before admission. High-resolution CT showed ground-glass opacity, irregular linear shadows, subpleural curvilinear lines and parenchymal bands. Pleural plaques or calcification could not be confirmed. The authors noted that these CT findings resembled usual interstitial pneumonia, so CT alone could not tell the two apart. A wedge biopsy of the left lower lobe showed interstitial fibrosis, visceral pleural fibrosis, and asbestos bodies mixed with black mineral dust. The authors concluded that because asbestos bodies were found, the diagnosis of asbestosis was not a problem.

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 60-year-old Korean man admitted to hospital with exertional shortness of breath and productive cough, reported by Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; the authors stated no histologically proven case had previously been reported in Korea
• Exposure: 20 years of work at a brake-lining manufacturing company that used chrysotile asbestos; the patient also smoked one pack of cigarettes a day for 25 years
• Main results:
  • The patient's symptoms (shortness of breath and a cough producing small amounts of sputum) began five years before admission; medical treatment had not helped
  • Lung function tests in this patient: FVC 2.8 L (78% predicted), FEV1 2.20 L (84% predicted), DLco 19.0 ml/min/mmHg (101% predicted)
  • High-resolution CT of this patient showed ground-glass opacity with irregular linear shadows, subpleural curvilinear lines and parenchymal bands
  • Pleural plaque or calcification could not be confirmed on CT in this patient
  • The biopsy showed interstitial fibrosis and inflammation whose pattern resembled idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
  • Asbestos bodies were seen in the fibrotic lung tissue, mixed with black mineral dust
  • The visceral pleura was diffusely thickened, enough to be diagnosed as visceral pleural fibrosis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that because asbestos bodies were demonstrated in the biopsy, the diagnosis of asbestosis in this case was not problematic, despite the absence of pleural plaque on CT
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the CT findings in this case were similar to those of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), so CT could not distinguish asbestosis from UIP

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestosis, Bilateral, Interstitial Fibrosis, Asbestos Exposure, High-Resolution CT (HRCT), Ground-Glass Opacity, Subpleural Curvilinear Line, Biopsy.

Related studies

• Intrapulmonary lymph nodes. Clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features — R.L. Kradin, P.W. Spirn, et al. (1985)
• From the archives of the AFIP. Malignant pleural mesothelioma: radiologic-pathologic correlation — B.H. Miller, M.L. Rosado-de-Christenson, et al. (1996)
• Surgically treated pneumothorax. Radiologic and pathologic findings — K.G. Jordan, J.S. Kwong, et al. (1997)
• Radiologic-pathologic correlation of mesothelioma tumor volume — S.G. Armato, P. Li, et al. (2015)
• Benign Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma: AIRP Best Cases in Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation — R. Lee, A. Tong, et al. (2016)
• Commentary on pathologic diagnosis of asbestosis and critique of the 2010 Asbestosis Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Pulmonary Pathology Society's (PPS) update on the diagnostic criteria for pathologic asbestosis — S.P. Hammar, J.L. Abraham (2015)

Browse return to medical research.