Potesta Mark A, Brown Aaron, Shibani Akram
Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bradenton, USA.
Pulmonary and Critical Care, Ascension St. Vincent's Southside Hospital, Jacksonville, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Apr 16;16(4):e58392. doi: 10.7759/cureus.58392. eCollection 2024 Apr.
Pneumoconiosis is a form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) that commonly occurs secondary to occupational or environmental exposures. This is an emerging disease as there are many potential forms of pathologic insults. Further adding to the complication is that clinical symptomatology secondary to pneumoconiosis can have long latent periods, as repetitive exposure over years leads to long-standing inflammation and subsequent irreversible damage. Exposure to asbestos, coal, silica, aluminum, talc, hay, and many more agents has the potential to cause pneumoconiosis. This case highlights a veteran, who made his career working with heavy metals such as chromium, beryllium, and titanium in the aerospace defense industry. This case discusses high-risk occupations, a workup for suspected pneumoconiosis, management, and the mechanism of lung injury underlying the three aforementioned pathologic agents. In each case of pneumoconiosis, a thorough history is essential, and diagnoses are made via the incorporation of the patient's historical risk factors, pulmonary function test (PFT) findings, and high-resolution chest computed tomography (HRCT).
尘肺病是间质性肺疾病（ILD）的一种形式，通常继发于职业或环境暴露。由于存在许多潜在的病理损伤形式，这是一种新兴疾病。使情况更加复杂的是，尘肺病继发的临床症状可能有很长的潜伏期，因为多年的反复暴露会导致长期炎症和随后的不可逆损伤。接触石棉、煤、二氧化硅、铝、滑石、干草和许多其他物质都有可能导致尘肺病。本病例突出了一名退伍军人，他的职业生涯是在航空航天国防工业中从事与铬、铍和钛等重金属相关的工作。本病例讨论了高风险职业、疑似尘肺病的检查、管理以及上述三种病理因素导致肺损伤的机制。在每一例尘肺病中，详尽的病史至关重要，诊断通过结合患者的历史风险因素、肺功能测试（PFT）结果和高分辨率胸部计算机断层扫描（HRCT）来做出。
