TUESDAY, Dec. 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Few primary clinicians or radiologists recognize silicosis among engineered stone countertop workers, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Dec. 1 to 5 in Chicago.

Sundus Lateef, M.D., from the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues describe the silicosis imaging phenotype among engineered stone countertop workers who are exposed to silica dust and correlated chest computed tomography (CT) findings with clinical severity in a cross-sectional study. The pilot analysis included 21 patients (100 percent male and Hispanic; median age, 43 years) diagnosed with silicosis with available CTs and pulmonary function tests (PFTs).

The researchers found that all the patients were symptomatic, with the most common symptoms being dyspnea and cough (91 and 81 percent, respectively). Recognition of silicosis at the initial encounter was 19 and 33 percent by primary clinicians and radiologists, respectively; in most cases, alternative diagnoses (especially mycobacterial/atypical infection) were initially suggested. Eleven of the 21 cases were typical for classic silicosis upon secondary retrospective review. The other 10 had atypical imaging features. In 85 percent of patients, PFTs revealed a restrictive pattern.

“These new cases of silicosis demonstrate radiology findings different from the historical disease, and doctors may not be aware of the diagnosis when they see these images,” Lateef said in a statement.

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