What is Pneumoconiosis?
Pneumoconiosis is an occupational disease caused by the fixation of dust particles in the lung tissue. It is found in coal mines, grinders and others in contact with asbestos and silicate (silicon) dust.
In a number of cases, in such patients, against the background of the usual clinical picture of pneumoconiosis, with an X-ray examination of the lungs, round well-defined shadows with a diameter of 1 cm or more are found, located mainly on the periphery of the lungs. Sometimes there are smaller foci at the apex of the lungs or scattered along the pulmonary fields. Often there are cavities. During histological examination, nodular formations have a structure characteristic of rheumatoid granuloma. Therefore, the picture described above was called rheumatoid pneumoconiosis. RA is found in approximately Uz patients with similar changes, and pulmonary manifestations of the disease over several years may precede the development of articular syndrome. Most of these patients are determined in the blood of the Russian Federation.
The combination of rheumatoid pneumoconiosis with rheumatoid arthritis was called Kaplan syndrome, which first described it.
Apparently, there are still some undetermined predisposing factors for the development of rheumatoid lung damage during pneumoconisis, although in general, miners have no more RA than in the general population, and the content of the Russian Federation with Kaplan syndrome does not differ from those that are detected with ordinary rheumatoid arthritis.
Symptoms of Pneumoconiosis
The clinical picture of the disease consists of the symptoms of pneumoconiosis (cough, shortness of breath, pulmonary heart disease) and rheumatoid arthritis.
Pneumoconiosis Treatment
Treatment should be aimed at eliminating the signs of both processes.