Microscopic polyangiitis secondary to silica exposure.

There is sufficient evidence of the capacity of silica to induce autoimmunity in patients with some type of genetic susceptibility. There are several autoimmune diseases related to this exposure (rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, sarcoidosis, systemic sclerosis). Nodular silicosis (clinical expression of this exposure in lungs) generates apoptosis, inflammation, loss of tolerance and a respiratory burst. There is evidence that relates silica with induction of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, but, until it is better explained, the reports of systemic vasculitis secondary to silica exposure are inconclusive. We describe a case of a patient with a history of occupational exposure to silica who developed microscopic polyangiitis.

Poliangiítis microscópica: reporte de un caso con enfermedad renal, pulmonar y neurológica, y revisión de la literatura / Microscopic Polyangiitis: a case report with renal, pulmonary and neurological involvement and review of the literature

Informamos el caso de un hombre de 79 años con hemorragia alveolar, glomerulonefritis necrosante y polineuropatía por poliangiítis microscópica, una enfermedad autoinmune, caracterizada por vasculitis sistémica, predominantemente de vasos de pequeño calibre. Se revisan los aspectos clínicos y terapéuticos de la enfermedad.

We report the case of a 79 years-old male, with alveolar hemorrhage, necrotizing glomerulonephritis and polyneuropathy due to microscopic polyangiitis, an autoimmune disease, characterized by systemic vasculitis, predominantly of small vessels. We review the clinical and therapeutic aspects of the disease.