Pneumoconioses and their masqueraders
VanOrdstrand, H.S.
Journal of Occupational Medicine. Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association 19(11): 747-753
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0096-1736 PMID: 915569 Document Number: 111677
It has been traditional that if an adequate occupational history is obtained in workers exposed to harmful dusts, the chest X-ray is the main diagnostic tool. In recent years, however, it has been noted that in most all occupations of these types, there may be marked variation in individual susceptibility to developing a pneumoconiosis without necessarily showing a constant dose relationship. It is not too infrequent that the usual diagnostic studies will not be sufficient to differentiate between masquerading diseases unrelated to the employment and diseases caused by the known hazards of certain employment. A personal classification of pneumoconioses and of hypersensitivity occupational reactions of the lungs is shown. Certain unusual roentgenograms can be due to a specific occupational disease and histologically proven so. In contrast it is also known that there is no occupation which allows a worker to be immune to nonoccupational diseases which can mimic roentgenographically the specific fibrogenic dust entity or forms of immunologic occupational diseases. This article presents a personal classification of the pneumoconioses and also tables and examples of masqueraders of them. Not too infrequently, the differential diagnostic tool of most importance is the microscope. Biopsies can be obtained through various ways and are usually adequate to obtain the proper final answer. These biopsies include those obtained through fiberoptic bronchoscopy, the various types of percutaneous needle lung biopsies and lung biopsy specimens obtained at minor surgical procedures.