1. Diffuse pulmonary ossification in a patient exposed to silica
- Author
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Yves Martinet, Marie-Pierre Wissler, Helene Jungmann, Jean-Michel Vignaud, Zola Bavelele, Denis Regent, Benoît Godbert, Centre hospitalier de Remiremont, Service de Pneumologie [CHRU Nancy], Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy), Département de Radiologie adultes [CHRU Nancy], Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Service d’Anatomie Pathologique [CHRU Nancy], Nutrition-Génétique et Exposition aux Risques Environnementaux (NGERE), and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lorraine (UL)
- Subjects
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Physical examination ,Collapsed Lung ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Silicosis ,Medicine ,Letters ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,lcsh:RC705-779 ,Lung ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Mediastinum ,lcsh:Diseases of the respiratory system ,respiratory system ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,3. Good health ,Surgery ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030228 respiratory system ,Pneumothorax ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Heart failure ,Radiology ,business ,Rare disease - Abstract
To the Editor: Pulmonary ossification is a rare disease characterised by the formation of diffuse small fragments of mature bone tissue in the lungs. It can be idiopathic or associated with underlying chronic lung, heart or systemic disorders. We present the case of an 83-year-old male, who had diffuse dendriform pulmonary ossification (DPO) and a spontaneous pneumothorax. An 83-year-old male nonsmoker with a history of hypertension and carotid and coronary angioplasties visited his medical practitioner for right chest pain after a flight from Spain to France. He had no history of lung disease or heart failure. He worked as a dentist with a dental prosthesis manufacturer. Our patient was frequently in the same workshop as the prostheses technician. The patient had no trauma, cough, sputum disorders or dyspnoea. A physical examination and the usual biological analyses were normal, particularly the phosphocalcic values. Chest radiography revealed a partial right pneumothorax with micronodular calcified opacities in both lungs. Computed tomography revealed the presence of bilateral disseminated micronodular opacities of calcified densities, predominantly located in the lower lung, which had lower densities than silicosis. There were no calcified lymph nodes in the mediastinum (figs 1 and 2). Figure 1. a) Computed tomography (CT) of the chest in a parenchymal window demonstrating a right pneumothorax and a nodular round shadow in the collapsed lung; b) CT of the chest in …
- Published
- 2013