Progression from Near-Normal to End-Stage Lungs in Chronic Interstitial Pneumonia Related to Silica Exposure: Long-Term CT Observations

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to evaluate serial CT changes from normal or near-normal lungs to honeycomb lungs in dust-exposed patients who developed chronic interstitial pneumonia.MATERIALS AND METHODS. From the records of the national hospital for pneumoconiosis, we retrospectively identified patients with chronic interstitial pneumonia who were under surveillance between 1986 and 2006. All patients occasionally underwent chest CT for evaluation of silicosis or exclusion of possible complications. Patients were included in this study only if the initial CT examination did not show obvious chronic interstitial pneumonia. Fourteen patients (all men; median age at initial CT, 58 years) were identified as meeting the inclusion criterion. Two independent reviewers randomly reviewed the CT scans of the study patients to score the extent of ground-glass opacity, reticulation, and honeycombing; to provide a summation of all interstitial opacities (fibrosis score); and to assess coarseness.RESULTS. ...

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