TULBURAREA FUNCȚIEI VENTILATORII ÎN SILICOZĂ.

Pneumoconioses still represent a current topic, due to the persistence of some productive activities at risk. Our aim is to assess the relationship between the radiological severity of the pneumoconiosis and the changes in pulmonary function tests. Material and method: The study group consists of 116 subjects with activity in gold mining, diagnosed with silicosis using the ILO 2000 Classification and evaluated by using spirometry. Results: The pulmonary tests indicative of obstruction are significantly lower in conglomerative forms of silicosis, the highest significance corresponding to MEF50%. The functional changes in silicosis are of obstructive type, mainly at peripheral level and are not influenced by the smoker/non-smoker status, suggesting that exposure to high concentrations of free crystalline SiO2 "erases" the differences given by the frequency of smoking. Conclusions: The main functional alteration is obstruction, more pronounced at the peripheral level of the airways, proving to be independent of the smoking habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]