ABSTRACT
Elevated levels of phosphoric acid, phosphorus pentoxide, fluorides and coal tar pitch volatiles were present in workplace air of a two-oven industrial refinery. One hundred thirty-one workers prospectively underwent annual pulmonary function testing (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and forced expiratory flow). Regression of these spirometric data, analyzed longitudinally over 3 to 7 years and also cross-sectionally reveals no residual significant effect of industrial exposure after adjusting for the effect of age and smoking. This industrial exposure contributes only weakly and inconsistently to the well-documented reduction of spirometric lung function that occurs from smoking alone. No significant reductions of spirometry occurred in exposed nonsmokers or former smokers.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants, Occupational/adverse effects , Lung Diseases, Obstructive/chemically induced , Lung Volume Measurements , Occupational Diseases/chemically induced , Occupational Exposure/adverse effects , Phosphorus Compounds , Phosphorus/adverse effects , Adult , Coal Tar/adverse effects , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Fluorides/adverse effects , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Lung Diseases, Obstructive/prevention & control , Male , Maximum Allowable Concentration , Middle Aged , Occupational Diseases/prevention & control , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors , Smoking/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Man-Made Mineral Fibres (MMMF) are starting to replace asbestos in the insulation industry. The popularity of these fibres has increased since the demonstration, in man, of the fibrogenicity and carcinogenicity of asbestos. A fear of human toxicity of MMMF has followed the demonstration of toxicity in animals after injection or instillation. This review of the litterature discusses the toxicity and side effects of MMMF. These fibres seem to have less toxicity than asbestos for the following reasons: 1. A lower concentration of fibres found in the air of the MMMF industry. 2. The cleavage of fibres in a perpendicular and non-parallel way. 3. The dissolution of fibres in the lung. Very fine fibreglass and mineral wool seem to be more toxic than continuous filaments and ordinary fibreglass.
Subject(s)
Asthma/chemically induced , Calcium Compounds , Dermatitis, Occupational/chemically induced , Glass , Lung Diseases/chemically induced , Lung Neoplasms/chemically induced , Occupational Diseases/chemically induced , Silicates , Silicic Acid , Silicon Dioxide , Humans , Lung Diseases/mortalitySubject(s)
Lung Diseases/physiopathology , Lung/physiopathology , Sarcoidosis/physiopathology , Smoking , Adult , Female , Humans , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Lung Diseases/diagnosis , Male , Middle Aged , Radiography , Radionuclide Imaging , Respiratory Function Tests , Sarcoidosis/diagnosis , Xenon RadioisotopesABSTRACT
Pulmonary function was measured in 24 sarcoidosis patients, 17 nonsmokers and 7 smokers. 12 (4 smokers) had evidence of small airway disease and 6 patients (3 smokers) had evidence of large airway disease. A significantly greater proportion of smokers had an increased closing volume, and closing volume appears to be the most sensitive test for small airway disease in sarcoidosis. However, 3 patients with normal closing volumes had evidence of small airway disease by forced expiratory flow rates or frequency dependence of compliance. We conclude that there is a high incidence of small airway disease in patients with sarcoidosis. There also appears to be a synergism between sarcoidosis and smoking that leads to a significant degree of hyperinflation of the lung.
Subject(s)
Lung Diseases/physiopathology , Respiratory System/physiopathology , Sarcoidosis/physiopathology , Smoking , Adult , Aged , Airway Obstruction/diagnosis , Airway Obstruction/etiology , Airway Resistance , Arteries , Female , Humans , Lung Volume Measurements , Male , Middle Aged , Oxygen/blood , Sarcoidosis/complicationsABSTRACT
13 previously untreated patients suffering from early pulmonary sarcoidosis (stages II and III) were studied radiologically and physiologically after 4 months of corticosteroid treatment. The results of airway function studies before and after corticosteroid treatment were compatible with small airway disease that did not improve after treatment. Before steroids, the main abnormalities were decreased diffusion and compliance, increased alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradients, and the presence of frequency-dependent compliance. After steroids, significant improvement was found in diffusion and alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradients, but compliance as well as frequency-dependent compliance did not improve.
Subject(s)
Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use , Lung Diseases/physiopathology , Respiration , Sarcoidosis/physiopathology , Adult , Female , Humans , Lung Diseases/drug therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Prednisone/therapeutic use , Respiratory Function Tests , Sarcoidosis/drug therapy , Smoking , Time FactorsABSTRACT
2 cases of interstitial fibrosis of the Hamman-Rich type are presented. The patients were symptomatic, but had normal X-rays. They were suspected of having interstitial infiltration by pulmonary function tests. Diagnosis was confirmed by lung biopsy. Pulmonary function tests, especially the study of elastic properties of the lung, can be of primary help in the diagnosis of pulmonary interstitial infiltration and fibrosis when the patient's X-ray is normal.
