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Query: UMLS:C0034069 (pulmonary fibrosis)
 7,050 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report a case of severe pulmonary fibrosis in a patient exposed to asbestos and other natural and man-made mineral fibers (MMMF) over a period of time. A 63-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of progressive dyspnea and severe hypoxemia with hypercapnea. Mineral fibers recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) included a large number of asbestos bodies (116,000/ml). The cores of the asbestos fibers were crocidolite, and no vitreous fibers nor other kinds of man-made mineral fibers (MMMFs) were identified. To our knowledge, the number of asbestos bodies per ml of this patient's BALF is the greatest ever reported. Insufficient personal protection of the airways, high concentrations of inhaled fibers, co-exposure to cigarette smoke, and prolonged biopersistence of crocidolite asbestos fibers are presumed to be the causes of such severe asbestosis.
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PMID:[A case of pulmonary fibrosis with many asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid after exposure to asbestos and man-made mineral fibers]. 1118 29

Exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a compound used in nonstick cookware coating and a variety of other applications, is known to cause acute lung injury and granulomatous pneumonitis. It is uncertain whether PTFE and compounds used in its manufacture, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), cause chronic lung disease. Here we report a case of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis in a 71-year-old man who died following a brief illness clinically suspected to be acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had a 25-year history of occupational exposure to PTFE and PFOA. At postmortem examination, the lungs demonstrated diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) superimposed on interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. The interstitial fibrosis lacked fibroblast foci and exhibited basilar and subpleural accentuation with focal microscopic honeycombing. Within the fibrotic lung parenchyma were scattered giant cells containing birefringent translucent particles. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were performed. A majority of the birefringent particles demonstrated a prominent peak for fluorine by EDS analysis. This is the first report to document the presence of fluorine, an elemental constituent of PTFE and PFOA, in fibrotic lung tissue. Careful evaluation of other individuals with long-term exposure to PTFE and/or PFOA appears warranted to better elucidate the spectrum of pulmonary disease associated with these compounds.
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PMID:Fluorine detection in the lung tissue of a worker with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and long-term occupational exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene and perfluorooctanoic acid. 3320 Jun 62