Murgia Nicola, Muzi Giacomo, Dell'Omo Marco, Sallese Domenico, Ciccotosto Cesario, Rossi Margherita, Scatolini Paola, Zingarelli Alberto, Accattoli Maria Patrizia, Melchiorri Daniela, Abbritti Giuseppe
Section of Occupational Medicine, Respiratory Diseases and Toxicology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Am J Ind Med. 2007 Aug;50(8):577-83. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20490.
Silicosis is caused by inhaling free crystalline silica. Few case reports have addressed the risk of silicosis in the jewelry trade where chalk molds containing a high percentage of silica are used in casting. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 100 goldsmiths exposed to silica.
All workers replied to a questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination, pulmonary function tests, a chest X-ray and a high-resolution CT scan.
High-resolution CT visualized signs of silicosis in 23 cases, confirmed by standard chest X-rays in 10. In the 23 workers with CT evidence of silicosis Total Lung Capacity, FEV1 and the Lung Diffusing Capacity did not differ from the workers without the disease. Pulmonary function tests did not correlate with silica exposure.
In this study we demonstrate that use of chalk molds in casting in jewelry causes silicosis. The composition of the dust could be responsible of the high prevalence observed.
矽肺病是由吸入游离结晶二氧化硅引起的。很少有病例报告涉及珠宝行业中矽肺病的风险，该行业在铸造过程中使用含高比例二氧化硅的粉笔模具。我们对100名接触二氧化硅的金匠进行了一项横断面研究。
所有工人都回答了一份问卷，并接受了临床检查、肺功能测试、胸部X光检查和高分辨率CT扫描。
高分辨率CT在23例中发现了矽肺病迹象，其中10例经标准胸部X光检查得以确诊。在23例有CT证据的矽肺病工人中，其肺总量、第一秒用力呼气容积和肺弥散量与无该病的工人没有差异。肺功能测试与二氧化硅暴露无关。
在本研究中，我们证明珠宝铸造中使用粉笔模具会导致矽肺病。粉尘的成分可能是观察到的高患病率的原因。
