Radiological and pathological correlations in asbestosis in the Republic of South Africa and the United Kingdom: I. A proposed radiological classification of asbestosis

Our plain-English summary of Radiological and pathological correlations in asbestosis in the Republic of South Africa and the United Kingdom: I. A proposed radiological classification of asbestosis, by G K Sluis-Cremer, C I Thorpe (1965).

The study

• Authors: G K Sluis-Cremer, C I Thorpe
• Published: 1965
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This conference paper has two parts. In Part I, two Johannesburg authors (one name, Theron, is legible; the other is garbled in the scan) proposed changing the ILO classification of chest X-rays for use in asbestosis. Linear opacities were expanded into more detailed categories. Calcified pleural plaques were given a definite place, and pleural thickening only a tentative one. Symbols were added for bronchial carcinoma, mesothelioma and cystic changes. The authors tried the code on one hundred and fifty-five cases diagnosed by X-ray in a population survey in the asbestos areas of the Cape and Transvaal, on 120 cases certified by X-ray, and on post-mortem proven cases from South Africa and the United Kingdom. They reported that calcified plaques appeared more frequent in South Africa, and concluded that exchanging films and readings between the two countries had established that the code was workable. Part II, a study by Caplan and colleagues of how much X-ray readers differed, gathered 50 South African and 64 London radiographs and autopsy reports on 51 London cases. The text ends before any Part II results.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Conference paper: Part I proposes a modified X-ray classification for asbestosis and tries it on case series; Part II (only its opening survives) is a preliminary study of variation between X-ray readers and of how X-ray readings relate to autopsy findings
• Who was studied: Part I: one hundred and fifty-five cases diagnosed as asbestosis by X-ray in a population survey in the asbestos areas of the Cape and Transvaal, South Africa; 120 cases certified as asbestosis by X-ray (90 of them from the Cape); and post-mortem proven cases from South Africa and the United Kingdom (counts unreadable in the scan). Part II: 50 South African and 64 London chest radiographs of asbestosis cases, and autopsy reports on 51 cases in the London area. Female cases were excluded.
• Exposure: Occupational and non-occupational asbestos exposure in the asbestos areas of the Cape and Transvaal, plus occupationally exposed cases in the United Kingdom; fiber types are not legible in the scan
• Main results:
  • The proposed code expanded the category for linear opacities (described as one of the main diagnostic features of asbestosis)
  • Calcified pleural plaques, described as frequently present in asbestosis, were given a definite place within the classification
  • Pleural thickening was given only a tentative place in the classification
  • Symbols for bronchial carcinoma and mesothelioma were added because asbestos was a possible cause of both
  • Comparing the United Kingdom post-mortem group with the two South African groups, the authors reported that calcified plaques were apparently more frequent in South Africa; they said the point was to show how the code can be used to compare groups
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that exchanging films and readings between the United Kingdom and South Africa had established that the proposed code was workable. They said that if it is to be widely used, a standard set of films should be selected to show the various changes.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Part II: in the United Kingdom series, lung cancer was so common that leaving out cases with lung cancer was impracticable

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: ILO Classification, Chest X-Ray, Pleural Plaques, Pleural Thickening, Carcinoma, Mesothelioma, Transvaal, Autopsy.

Browse return to medical research.