Data on 1432 patients with silicosis on a register in Hong Kong were analysed to examine the association of massive fibrosis with possible predisposing factors. Detailed occupational and clinical histories, clinical records, radiographic readings according to the International Standard Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses, and environmental dust measurements from hygiene surveys were...

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) classification of radiographs of pneumoconioses was developed to limit variation in classification of parenchymal abnormalities. In this study the manner in which chest radiographs were interpreted in 134 investigations reported in four peer reviewed journals during the five year period 1985-90 was examined. The approach for applying the ILO system wa...

This paper presents the profile of occupational respiratory diseases in the Czech Republic. In a retrospective study the author analyzes structure, causes, occurrence, and trends of occupational diseases. Between 1996 and 2000, a total of 2,127 new cases were recorded, of which 62.0% were pneumoconioses caused by dust containing free silica, 21.0% were occupational asthma or allergic rhinitis a...

It is remarkable that the great group of dust-hazard diseases are only mentioned, with a few lines of description, among "other diseases of the lungs." Increasing attention has been paid in the last twenty-five years to the diseases caused by free silica (silicosis) and combined silica (asbestosis), and pulmonary tuberculosis is often associated with these pneumoconioses. The chapters on Epidem...

THE AUSTRALIAN contribution to the evolution of knowledge concerning the pneumoconioses is perhaps better known overseas than locally. In fact, these studies, commencing about the turn of the century, and dealing with epidemiology, aetiology, pathogenesis, pathology and prevention, were amongst the most systematic and comprehensive medical research undertaken in a specific field in Australia pr...

OBJECTIVE To develop and consolidate a comprehensive database on the occurrence of pneumoconioses in an industrialized region of Brazil, with a special focus on the activities most frequently related to these diseases. METHODS A retrospective, observational study was conducted in order to gather data on cases of pneumoconioses treated at the outpatient clinic of the State University at Campin...

The structure and composition of silica-rich particles recovered by lavage from the lungs of three active miners with different medical histories were studied using high-resolution electron microscopy and chemical microanalysis. The results are compared to the similarly determined structure and composition of respirable-size mineral particles obtained from roof-bolter dust-box samples from two ...