Emphysema in Silica- and Asbestos-Exposed Workers Seeking Compensation

Impairment of lung function in asbestos-exposed workers in relation to high-resolution computed tomography

“…Our clinical impression has been that emphysema could play an important role in respiratory disability among asbestos-exposed persons, as suggested also in previous studies (11)(12)(13). In assessments of the severity of asbestos-induced lung disorders in smokers, the presence of emphysema must be diagnosed for medicolegal and compensational reasons.…”

Treatment of Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax Complicating Silicosis and Progressive Massive Fibrosis.

“…More research is needed on the treatment, outcomes and mortality of SSP complicated with silicosis, especially advanced silicosis with PMF [2,4,5]. The present report suggests that although chemical pleurodesis could be effective for treating refractory SSP complicating silicosis and PMF, its indication may be limited because of the patient clinical state and progression.…”

“…If the air leak persists after the solution of the obstruction of tube drainage or the reexpansion lung edema, we would consider a more aggressive option, such as pleurodesis with thoracoscopy [6,8,21]. More care, however, is necessary because of the limited experience with such treatments, according to the Delphi consensus statement by Baumann et al [5]. In short, the more aggressive treatments for the refractory cases should be performed under reasonable considerations of risk factors between the patient and treatment [2,6,8].…”

“…The former occurs in a person without an obvious underlying lung disease, the latter occurs as a complication of an underlying disease, such as COPD [2,3]. Silicosis is classified as a fibrotic lung disease caused by prolonged exposure to silica [4,5]. Pneumothorax is one of the complications of silicosis [1 ,2] .…”

Position Paper of the German Society of Pneumology on Medical Expert Opinion for Silicosis

“…Neben dem zweifelsfreien Nachweis einer Einwirkung von kristallinen Kieselsäuren (meist Quarz) ist dies in der Regel bei der konventionellen Röntgenauf− nahme ab der Kategorie 1/1 mit ausreichender Spezifität gege− ben [14]. Es liegen Ergebnisse dafür vor, wonach die CT für den Silikose−Nachweis sensitiver ist als die konventionelle Radiolo− gie [15]. Auch pathologisch−anatomisch sind silikotische Verän− derungen früher zu erkennen als im Röntgenbild [16] Tab …”