Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Asbestosis differential diagnosis
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Differential Diagnosis
Differential Diagnosis
- Pleural disease is common in patients with asbestos exposure, occurring in up to 50%, but does not necessarily indicate asbestosis. Pleural disease includes circumscribed pleural plaques, with or without calcification, or diffuse pleural thickening, including blunting of the costrophrenic angle, and rarely rounded atelectasis secondary to pleural adhesions.
- The plaques are most commonly on the parietal pleura, particularly adjacent to ribs, most commonly along the 6th-9th ribs and along the diagphragm. They are typically absent from the apices and costrophrenic angle. Calcification is found on CXR in 20%, on CT scanning in 50%, and at post in 80%.
- Parenchymal fibrosis from asbestos exposure can occur with or without pleural plaques
- Pleural disease is not common in other causes of interstitial lung diseases
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Kim-Son H. Nguyen, M.D., M.P.A., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]