[The value of Mackenzie and Harries's technique in detecting pleural thickenings: results of a systematic study in 64 patients exposed to the risk of asbestosis (author's transl)].

The authors stress the difficulty of detecting pleural thickenings due to asbestos by radiography, before the late stage when calcification appears. Using Mackenzie and Harries's technique, they radiographed 64 subjects working in the naval shipbuilding yard in Nantes, who had previously been examined by radiophotography. Their results confirmed the superiority of the 45 degrees oblique incidence for demonstrating patches of pleural thickening in those areas where they occur most frequently. The value of this early detection is purely social and occupational at the present time, as it cannot be used to give a prognosis as to the possible appearance of a more serious lesion such as mesotheliomas.