The Value Of Non-Radiological Indicators In The Early Diagnosis Of Asbestosis

Our plain-English summary of The Value Of Non-Radiological Indicators In The Early Diagnosis Of Asbestosis, by G. Chiappino, P.A. Bertazzi (1980).

The study

• Authors: G. Chiappino, P.A. Bertazzi
• Published: Biological Effects Of Mineral Fibres (J.C. Wagner, Editor), Lyon: Iarc Scientific Publications, Volume 30, Pp. 513-516 (1980)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 002175. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This short conference paper from the University of Milan proposed five non-X-ray signs of early asbestosis: asbestos bodies and siderocytes in sputum, crackling basal rales, restrictive ventilatory insufficiency, and impaired lung gas diffusion. The authors said early lung damage appears years before X-ray changes. They studied 182 workers admitted for suspected asbestosis and grouped them by exposure, not by X-ray results. The 71 moderately exposed were called 'possible asbestotics'. The 111 exposed to very high concentrations for more than 10 years were called 'sure asbestotics'. Here, 'predictive value' meant the share of workers positive for an indicator or combination who were 'sure asbestotics'. A sputum indicator had the highest value, but the damaged text does not show which one. For workers positive for restrictive ventilatory insufficiency it was 80%, and for the remaining tests 70%. For workers with five positive indicators it was 93%, with four 86%, and with three 87%. The authors concluded that lung lesions could be indicated in 80-90% of subjects regardless of X-ray results. They also concluded that these indicators should largely replace X-ray examinations in worker surveillance.

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: Clinical study of the predictive value of non-radiological indicators in workers admitted for suspected asbestosis (short conference paper)
• Who was studied: 182 workers admitted to the Institute of Occupational Health, University of Milan, for suspected asbestosis: 71 'possible asbestotics' and 111 'sure asbestotics'
• Exposure: Asbestos (fiber type not named). 71 workers had moderate exposure. 111 were exposed to very high atmospheric concentrations for more than 10 years and were classed as 'sure asbestotics' regardless of their X-ray results.
• Main results:
  • Predictive value was measured as the share of workers positive for an indicator who were in the 'sure asbestotics' group. One sputum indicator had the highest predictive value, but its figure and its name are damaged in the scanned text.
  • Among workers positive for restrictive ventilatory insufficiency, 80% were in the 'sure asbestotics' group. The figure for the other tests considered was 70%.
  • Predictive values for combinations were 93% for workers with five positive indicators, 86% for those with four, and 87% for those with three.
  • 93% of subjects with all five indicators were in the 'sure asbestotics' group.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that systematic, standardized testing of all the non-radiological indicators is the most desirable method of biological monitoring. They said it should, to a large extent, replace X-ray examinations, which they described as useful only at later stages.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Bodies, Sputum.

Browse return to medical research.