Doig A T
Thorax. 1976 Feb;31(1):30-9. doi: 10.1136/thx.31.1.30.
Baritosis is one of the benign pneumoconioses in which inhaled particulate matter lies in the lungs for years without producing symptoms, abnormal physical signs, incapacity for work, interference with lung function, or liability to develop pulmonary or bronchial infections or other thoracic disease. Owing to the high radio-opacity of barium, the discrete shadows in the chest radiograph are extremely dense. Even in the most well-marked cases with extreme profusion of the opacities, massive shadows do not occur. When exposure to barium dust ceases the opacities begin slowly to disappear. Nine cases of baritosis occurring in a small factory in which barytes was crushed, graded, and milled are described. Two of the cases occurred after only 18 and 21 month's exposure, and 9 of the 10 men employed for more than one and a half years had baritosis. Five of the affected men examined at intervals since their exposure to barytes ceased in 1964 showed marked clearing of their radiological abnormalities.
钡尘肺是良性尘肺之一，吸入的颗粒物在肺内留存数年，却不产生症状、异常体征、劳动能力丧失、肺功能障碍，也不易引发肺部或支气管感染或其他胸部疾病。由于钡的高射线不透性，胸部X线片上的离散阴影极为致密。即使在阴影最为明显、极为密集的病例中，也不会出现大片状阴影。停止接触钡尘后，阴影开始缓慢消失。本文描述了一家小型工厂中发生的9例钡尘肺病例，该工厂从事重晶石的破碎、分级和研磨工作。其中2例仅在接触18个月和21个月后发病，10名工作超过一年半的男性中有9例患有钡尘肺。自1964年停止接触重晶石以来，对5名患病男性进行了定期检查，结果显示其放射学异常明显减轻。
