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Query: UMLS:C0037116 (silicosis)
 1,822 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report the case of a 59-year old patient with the rare combination of silicosis and rheumatoid arthritis, which is called Caplan's syndrome. The patient presented with right heart failure caused by a pericardial tumor compressing the right and the left ventricle. By means of several imaging techniques it was possible to elucidate the topographic relations of the tumor. Definite signs of malignant growth were not found. Despite his elevated perioperative risk we decided to operate on the patient. During the operation macroscopic and histologic evidence revealed that the tumor was not a neoplastic process but consisted of an organized hemopericardium. This demonstrates that pericarditis in rheumatoid arthritis can be hemorrhagic and can mimick a malignant pericardial tumor. The decision to operate was first supported by the findings of the applied imaging techniques, the normal endomyocardial biopsy, and the clinical course and were later confirmed in situ.
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PMID:[Biventricular inflow tract compression by chronic organized hemopericardium in Caplan syndrome]. 792 26

Although rare, rheumatoid pneumoconiosis, also known as Caplan's syndrome, can occur in workers exposed to silica, as well as in patients with silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis or asbestosis. Prevalence is higher among patients with silicosis, despite the fact that it was originally described in coal workers with pneumoconiosis. The classical finding that defines this syndrome is that of rheumatoid nodules in the lungs, regardless of whether there are small rounded opacities suggestive of pneumoconiosis or large opacities consistent with massive pulmonary fibrosis, with or without clinical rheumatoid arthritis. We describe the case of a female patient with rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed 34 years after 7 years of occupational exposure to silica at a porcelain plant. A chest X-ray showed circular opacities of 1-5 cm in diameter, bilaterally distributed at the periphery of the lungs. A CT-guided thoracic punch biopsy of one of those nodules revealed that it was rheumatoid nodule surrounded by a palisade of macrophages, which is typical of Caplan's syndrome. Aspects of diagnosis, classification and occurrence of this syndrome are discussed, emphasizing the importance of the occupational anamnesis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lung opacities on chest X-rays.
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PMID:Rheumatoid pneumoconiosis (Caplan's syndrome) with a classical presentation. 1982 Aug 22

Autoimmune disorders are induced by various environmental and occupational substances. Among the most typical factors involving these substances, it is well known that silica exposure causes not only pulmonary fibrosis known as silicosis, but also induces autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis known as Caplan's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-related vasculitis/nephritis. To investigate the immunological effects of silica, a focus on the occurrence of autoimmune dysfunction may clarify these autoimmune diseases and develop effective tools for observing silicosis patients (SIL). In this review, our investigation concerns the autoantibodies found in SIL, alteration of CD95/Fas and related molecules in SIL, case-oriented and in vitro analyses of silica-induced activation of responder and regulatory T cells, and supposed mechanisms of reduction of CD4+25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (T(reg)) in SIL. Further studies are required to investigate Th17 and the interaction with T(reg) in SIL to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of environmental and occupational autoimmune disorders.
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PMID:Environmental factors producing autoimmune dysregulation--chronic activation of T cells caused by silica exposure. 2222 3

Rheumatoid pneumoconiosis, also known as Caplan's syndrome is defined as the association between silicosis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is a rare and usually diagnosed in an advanced stage of RA course. It affects generally patients with long exposure to silica. In this article, we report a case of Caplan's syndrome.
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PMID:A case of Caplan syndrome in a recently diagnosed patient with silicosis: A case report. 3002 36