What Are the Different Types of Asbestosis Treatment?
Asbestosis is a diffuse fibrotic lung disease, which is an occupational pneumoconiosis with pulmonary interstitial fibrosis as the main disease caused by long-term inhalation of asbestos dust. Mining and transportation workers of asbestos mines, workers in asbestos processing plants and asbestos products factories have inhaled asbestos dust during operation for a long time, resulting in asbestosis. There are no obvious symptoms in the early stage of the disease. With the aggravation of the disease, patients gradually develop symptoms such as cough, sputum, shortness of breath and chest tightness. In the later stage, right ventricular hypertrophy occurs due to pulmonary heart disease.
- nickname
- Asbestos lung
- English alias
- Visiting department
- Respiratory
- Common locations
- lung
- Common causes
- Caused by long-term inhalation of asbestos dust
- Common symptoms
- There are no obvious symptoms in the early stage, and cough, sputum, shortness of breath, chest tightness, etc. will gradually appear with the worsening of the disease. In the later stage, the right ventricle is enlarged due to pulmonary heart disease.
Basic Information
Causes of asbestosis
- Asbestosis is caused by long-term inhalation of asbestos dust (fibre mineral silicate containing various chemical components) during mining, processing, manufacturing, use (such as for thermal insulation) or transportation of asbestos products. The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma is related to the cumulative time of exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos can promote carcinogenesis, but it is not a carcinogen. The incidence of lung cancer is increased in smoking asbestos patients, and there is a dose-response relationship.
Clinical manifestations of asbestosis
- Patients with asbestosis can be asymptomatic and have X-ray changes at an early stage, or only have shortness of breath after exercise.
- Concealed symptoms occur more than 7 to 10 years after exposure to dust, but a few also appear only about 1 year after exposure to dust. The typical symptoms of asbestosis are slowly appearing and gradually increasing dyspnea. In the early days, it is mainly labor-related, and the severity is related to the time and concentration of dust exposure. It is usually a dry cough, and severe smokers tend to have a severe cough with mucus sputum. Chest pain is often mild, often dull pain in the back or behind the sternum, and hemoptysis is rare. If hemoptysis occurs in combination with tumors, fever, cough and sputum may occur during infection.
Asbestosis checkup
- Laboratory inspection
- Asbestos bodies can be found in sputum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, which is evidence of asbestos exposure history. Serum rheumatoid factor was positive. Antinuclear antibodies were positive, and the pleural effusion was sterile serous or serous bloody exudate.
- 2. Other auxiliary inspections
- (1) Changes in lung function The lung function changes in patients with asbestosis are typically manifested as reduced lung capacity, impaired diffusion function, and abnormal gas exchange.
- (2) The chest CT or X-ray imaging shows two parts: pleural changes and pulmonary parenchymal changes. In recent years, it has been found that pleural plaques often appear earlier and significantly earlier than the changes in the lung parenchyma. Reticulated shadows are a major change in asbestosis.
Diagnosis of asbestosis
- Patients with a history of asbestos exposure can make a diagnosis of asbestosis based on characteristic changes seen on chest X-rays or CT examinations. Usually patients also have abnormal lung function, which can be heard on auscultation. The diagnosis of asbestosis must be biopsied (a small pleura is taken for microscopy).
Asbestos Treatment
- The treatment of asbestosis is mainly to relieve symptoms, such as using oxygen therapy or aspiration of pleural effusion to relieve breathing difficulties. Sometimes a lung transplant can be successful in treating asbestosis. If combined with pleural mesothelioma, they are all malignant. Depending on the stage of the disease, in addition to some tumor patients suitable for surgical resection, other patients can choose chemotherapy and radiation therapy.