A longitudinal study of pulmonary function in coal miners in Lorraine, France.

A longitudinal study of pulmonary function and radiological change has been conducted on 141 nonsmoking coal miners and 256 smoking coal miners from Lorraine, France. At the time of the first examination occasioned by radiological change or shortness of breath, the men averaged between 46.6 years and 50.

[Bronchial cancer in miners from the coal beds of the Lorraine basin].

The present study examines the mortality levels from primary bronchial cancer in the miners of Houillieres du Bassin de Lorraine, including pneumoconiotics and non-pneumoconiotics aged more than 45. 48, or 8.87% of deaths of known cause occurring between 1977 and 1981 amongst pneumoconiotics were due to a primary bronchial cancer, proved cytologically and histologically.

[Small irregular pulmonary radiological anomalies seen in coal miners in the Lorraine region].

Amongst the pulmonary radiological abnormalities more or less suggestive of pneumoconiosis seen in 1 044 miners from Lorraine, there were 976 cases of typical pneumoconiosis: 154 "P.M.F.

[Functional respiratory disorders in miners of the Lorraine coal basin at the time of their retirement].

A clinical, radiological (RX) and spirographic examination and a measurement of lung transfer for CO (TCO), following the steady state method, were performed in 655 coal-miners. They had worked for an average of 30 years in the Lorraine coal-mines and their mean age was 50 years. Among the non-pneumoconiotics, 20% of non-smokers and 35% of smokers displayed ventilatory obstructive disturbances.

[Silicosis with a rapid and pseudo-tumoral course occurring in a case of pre-existant progressive and treated pulmonary sarcoidosis in a miner little exposed to silicosis risk : sarcoido-silicosis (author's transl)].

The authors report the case of a miner suffering from pulmonary and nodal sarcoidosis treated with corticosteroids where during a multivisceral exacerbation with iritis and erythema nodosum there developed rapidly progressive pseudo-tumoral silicosis. Pulmonary and nodal biopsies by thoracotomy revealed silicotic masses in the upper lobe, penetrated and bordered by sarcoid granulomas. In the middle lobe and hilar nodes, only sarcoid process was present.

[A method of estimating alveolo-arterial gradient and arterial pressure of CO2, without analysis of blood].

In 31 normal and 378 patients suffering from various bronchopulmonary diseases, a relation was established experimentally between TCO and the alveolo-arterial gradient of CO2. From TCO and CO2 output, this relation allows to obtain a reproducible estimation of the alveolo-arterial gradient and of the arterial pressure of CO2 by a non-bloody method with sufficient clinical accuracy. Moreover, this methods permits to interpret TCO steady state more easily and especially so under unusual ventilatory conditions.