Risk of mycobacterial infections in a cohort of silicosis patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence rates of mycobacterial infections in silicosis patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (ARD).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort of silicosis patients between January of 1999 and December of 2023. We compared the incidence of tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial disease (NTM) in patients with silicosis with and without ARD.

Brazilian Thoracic Society recommendations for the diagnosis and monitoring of asbestos-exposed individuals.

Asbestos was largely used in Brazil. It is a mineral that induces pleural and pulmonary fibrosis, and it is a potent carcinogen. Our objective was to develop recommendations for the performance of adequate imaging tests for screening asbestos-related diseases.

An Evaluation of the Impact of Air Pollution on the Lung Functions of High School Students Living in a Ceramic Industrial Park Zone.

Santa Gertrudes (SG) and Rio Claro (RC), Sao Paulo, Brazil, are located in a ceramic industrial park zone, and their particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm (PM) concentration levels has been among the highest in recently monitored cities in Brazil. Local PM was mostly composed of silica. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the lung functions of public high school students in SG, RC, and São Pedro (SP) (control location), Brazil, in 2018.

Biomarkers related to silicosis and pulmonary function in individuals exposed to silica.

Background: The identification of markers that can facilitate the early diagnosis of silicosis has remained challenging. We evaluated the association of inflammatory markers with the presence of silicosis and lung function impairment in individuals exposed to silica.

Methods: Individuals exposed and not exposed to silica were assessed by occupational history, clinical findings, lung function, chest imaging findings, and inflammatory markers.

Work-related asthma consequences on socioeconomic, asthma control, quality of life, and psychological status compared with non-work-related asthma: A cross-sectional study in an upper-middle-income country.

Background: Work-related asthma (WRA) is the most prevalent occupational respiratory disease, and it has negative effects on socioeconomic standing, asthma control, quality of life, and mental health status. Most of the studies on WRA consequences are from high-income countries; there is a lack of information on these effects in Latin America and in middle-income countries.

Methods: This study compared socioeconomic, asthma control, quality of life, and psychological outcomes among individuals diagnosed with WRA and non-work-related asthma (NWRA) in a middle-income country.

Mesothelioma in situ with regressive malignant pleural effusion and an unexpected evolution: A case report.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive neoplasm that originates from hyperplasia and metaplasia of the mesothelial cells that cover the pleural cavity. Previous exposure to asbestos is the main risk factor. Since MPM is often diagnosed at an advanced stage with rapid evolution and resistance to treatment, it is associated with an unfavorable outcome.

Work-related asthma.

Work-related asthma (WRA) is highly prevalent in the adult population. WRA includes occupational asthma (OA), which is asthma caused by workplace exposures, and work-exacerbated asthma (WEA), also known as work-aggravated asthma, which is preexisting or concurrent asthma worsened by workplace conditions. In adults, the estimated prevalence of OA is 16.

Environmental air pollution: respiratory effects.

Environmental air pollution is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Environmental air pollution has a direct impact on human health, being responsible for an increase in the incidence of and number of deaths due to cardiopulmonary, neoplastic, and metabolic diseases; it also contributes to global warming and the consequent climate change associated with extreme events and environmental imbalances. In this review, we present articles that show the impact that exposure to different sources and types of air pollutants has on the respiratory system; we present the acute effects-such as increases in symptoms and in the number of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths-and the chronic effects-such as increases in the incidence of asthma, COPD, and lung cancer, as well as a rapid decline in lung function.

Hard metal lung disease: a case series.

Objective:: To describe diagnostic and treatment aspects of hard metal lung disease (HMLD) and to review the current literature on the topic.

Methods:: This was a retrospective study based on the medical records of patients treated at the Occupational Respiratory Diseases Clinic of the Instituto do Coração, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between 2010 and 2013.

Results:: Of 320 patients treated during the study period, 5 (1.