A Case of Asbestosis Found in a Lung Biopsy 18 Years after Brief Exposure

• Published in: The Japanese journal of thoracic diseases Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 17 - 20
• Main Authors: Fujita, Toshiro, Sato, Sugahiro, Nagamine, Ikuo, Sekiguchi, Susumu, Fukui, Toshio, Akatsuka, Seiya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Respiratory Society 25.01.1976
• ISSN: 0301-1542; 1883-471X
• DOI: 10.11389/jjrs1963.14.17

Severe asbestosis was found in a lung biopsy of a 52 year-old female, who, 18 years before, was exposed to asbestos dust for a period of only one year. Dry cough was noted 12 years after, and dyspnea on exsertion appeared 17 years after the exposure. Physical examination on admission revealed Velcro rales in both lower lung fields and chest X-ray showed a reticular shadow in both lower lung. Characteristic pathophysiologic findings of restrictive ventilatory and diffusion impairment were demonstrated. On pathological examination, many asbest-bodies and severe interstitial fibrosis were found scattered throughout the parenchyma. The case represents a rather unusual course of the disease in which the patient's exposure to asbesto-material was only one year and the fibrosis of pulmonary parenchyma became progressive more than ten years after the known exposure.