[A case of primary pulmonary hypertension in a 52-year old man]. / Przypadek pierwotenego nadcisnienia plucnego u 52-letniego mezczyzny.

The presented case of primary pulmonary hypertension is worth attention in view of rare incidence in men, especially those over 50 years of age. It was possible to observe the course of the disease and to perform examinations confirming the diagnosis. The unavoidable and rapid progression of lesions, extremely poor prognosis and lack of possibilities of causal treatment should be stressed.

[A case of Hashimoto struma coinciding with limited scleroderma]. / Przypadek wspólwystepowania wola Hashimoto i twardziny ograniczonej.

In a female patient aged 43 years severe hypothyroidism was caused by Hashimoto struma. She had also cutaneous changes suggestive of collagen disease. On the basis of clinical manifestations, laboratory investigations and histological examinations coexistence was diagnosed of two autoimmunological diseases. Stress is laid on diagnostic difficulties and choice of management.

[Analysis of the incidence of pneumoconiosis among coal miners]. / Analiza zachorowalnosci na pylice u górników jednej kopalni wegla kamiennego.

Basing on the prevention system for pneumoconiosis in ++coal mining, an analysis of the disease incidence in the workers of a selected ++coal mine was performed. The subjects were 2.495 miners with the work period longer than 8 years and a group of 822 retired miners. In the former group 16 cases (0.64%) of pneumoconiosis were diagnosed, whereas in the latter as many as 89 cases (10.8%) were found which would indicate a necessity for more detailed examinations in ex-miners of this ++coal mine. The pneumoconiosis changes were detected in the early period of their development. The highest risk was found to refer to longwall and blasting miners and cutter-loadermen. The correlation between radiological changes of the s, t, and u type and the duration of work as well as the high frequency of these changes at highly polluted workplaces seem to point to their relation to dust exposure.

[Chronic bronchitis and respiratory capacity of the lungs in miners from a specific coal mine]. / Przewlekle zapalenie oskrzeli i sprawnosc wentylacyjna pluc u górników jednej kopalni wegla.

In the group of 3317 miners of one coal mine, who were employed for over 8 years, the prevalence of chronic bronchitis (ch.b.) and lung ventilation disorders was analysed. The frequency of ch.b. in the subjects under study was almost twice as high as in the general male population in Poland and significantly more frequent in miners with pneumoconiosis than in those without pneumoconiosis. Simple pneumoconiosis and ch.b. contributed to decreased ventilatory capacity of the lung.

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of medical prevention of pneumoconiosis based on studies of its incidence in selected coal mines]. / Ocena skutecznosci profilaktyki medycznej pylic w oparciu o badania chorobowosci w wybranych kopalniach wegla kamiennego.

In a group of 3,938 persons--pit miners of 3 coal mines--employed over 8 years, full-size X-ray pictures of the chest have been taken and through a special questionnaire information has been collected on the length of employment, workstation, risk of dustiness, exposure to fibrogenic dusts outside the mine. Basing on the studies, the mean annual incidence of pneumoconiosis in particular mines has been calculated. The data has been compared with the mean annual incidence rate of pneumoconiosis calculated for 10 years prior to epidemiological studies and based on the primary selection by means of small-size pictures. This comparison indicated that the full-size pictures revealed 3-7 times more pneumoconioses as compared to the hitherto applied system. The comparison of full-size and small-size X-ray pictures demonstrated that the lesions visible in full-size pictures have not been registered in small-size pictures in as many as half of the cases. The obtained results indicate that the effectiveness of the hitherto applied system of medical prevention of pneumoconiosis is insufficient. A change in this system is indispensable; miniature roentgenography should be replaced by full-size X-ray pictures.

[A plan for the medical prevention of pneumoconiosis in coal mining]. / Projekt profilaktyki medycznej pylic w górnictwie wegla kamiennego.

Some assumptions of a system of pneumoconiosis prevention for coal miners have been presented. An essential element of the system consists in replacing fluororadiograms with full-size X-ray pictures, as a method of primary selection. Provisions have been also made for promotion of the detection and treatment of chronic bronchitis and some other respiratory system diseases, along with obligatory spirometric tests. It is planned that the examinations will also involve pensioners. The current analysis of the collected information will be made using the electronic data processing.

[Incidence of pneumoconiosis in coal mines with different levels of mechanization]. / Wystepowanie pylicy w kopalniach wegla kamiennego o róznym stopniu mechanizacji.

2717 miners working more than eight years in four collieries have been examined. Two of those mines were mechanized, whereas in the other two the degree of mechanization was low. Anamnestic data and radiological examinations have been correlated with dust concentration, silica content and individual index of energy expenditure. Mechanization has been found to increase dustiness but it is not necessarily responsible for pneumoconiosis risk, the degree of the risk being dependent on the efficiency of dust prophylaxis. On the other hand, mechanization reduces physical effort and, consequently, lung ventilation, and so it may reduce the effect of excessive dustiness as well. Thus, pneumoconiosis risk due to mechanization is a resultant of several factors sometimes exhibiting opposite impact.

[Results of the electrocardiographic examination in pneumoconiosis of miners]. / Wyniki badania elektrokardiograficznego w pylicy prostej górników.

In the group of 333 miners of pitcoal mines, who had developed simple coniosis, deviation in EKG curve were analysed. The examination excluded cases with accompanying chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and arterial hypertension. The results did not reveal any significant changes which would prove that the right ventricle is overloaded. Differences in electrocardiogram between individual radiological types of simple coniosis were not found, either. The electrocardiographic anomalies varied with age.