Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0032273 (pneumoconiosis)
 1,578 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Talc is a hydrated magnesium silicate used in the chemical, ceramic, cosmetic, leather, paper and building industries. Interstitial lung disease - talcosis - due to exclusive talc inhalation is a rare form of pneumoconiosis. More often, pulmonary disease due to talc is encountered after intravenous administration of talc during drug abuse. Talc can contain asbestos or quartz particles which induce asbestosis or silicosis. Here we present a case report about a worker who was exposed to talcum during his work in tire manufacturing. During his lifetime an occupational disease was not recognised. The deceased had been forwarded to cremation; the legally prescribed second inspection of the corpse induced the suspicion of an occupational disease and an autopsy was ordered. The autopsy revealed a lung fibrosis with honeycomb lung alterations and under polarised light a massive burden with birefringed crystalline particles could be visualised. Light and electron microscopic lung dust analyses could exclude an elevated asbestos lung burden. The element analysis of foreign body material in lung tissue confirmed its chemical composition of magnesium and silicon which was consistent with talc. Based on the pathological and mineralogical findings, the confirmed occupational exposure towards talc and, due to the exclusion of other possible causes (asbestos, quartz), the diagnose of a talc-induced interstitial lung fibrosis - talcosis - was established. This case emphasises the importance of pathological-anatomic examinations in combination with lung dust analysis to reveal occupational exposure as a cause of an interstitial lung disease.
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PMID:[Case report of a rare occupational disease: a during life non-recognised occupational disease--talcosis]. 2141 6

The first case of pulmonary talcosis or talc pneumoconiosis related to inhalation of talc during its extraction and processing in mines was described by Thorel in 1896. Pulmonary talcosis is most commonly seen secondary to occupational exposure or intravenous (IV) drug abuse and, occasionally, in excessive use of cosmetic talc. Based on literature review, there has been an increase in reported incidents of pulmonary talcosis due to various forms of exposure to the mineral. We report an 82-year-old man who is diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with palliative imatinib who presented with chronic hemoptysis and dyspnea shortly after his diagnosis. His symptoms were initially thought to be due to an infectious etiology due to his malignancy, immunocompromised state, and radiographic findings until high-resolution computerized tomographic (HRCT) findings showed a diffuse pulmonary fibrosis picture that prompted further questioning and a more thorough history inquiry on his exposure to causative agents of interstitial lung disease. Very often, patients do not recognize their exposure, especially in those whose exposure is unrelated to their occupation. Our case emphasizes the need for thorough and careful history taking of occupational and nonoccupational exposure to known causative agents of interstitial lung disease.
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PMID:Pulmonary Talcosis in an Immunocompromised Patient. 2744 15