Occupational exposure to crystalline silica in a sample of the French general population.

Objective: To describe the proportions of subjects exposed to crystalline silica and the sectors of activity concerned between 1965 and 2010 in a sample of the general French population.

Methods: We included 2942 participants aged 40 to 65 years, recruited at random from electoral rolls, from the French general population in the cross-sectional ELISABET study between 2011 and 2013. The proportions of subjects exposed to crystalline silica and their sectors of activity were determined on the basis of their career history and the use of the Matgéné job-exposure matrix.

Assessment of lung hyperinflation in occupational chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a multicentric cross-sectional study.

Unlabelled: Occupational exposure is associated with elevated morbidity and lower quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Static hyperinflation is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in COPD and for COPD exacerbation. In a multicentre, cross-sectional study (BPROFETIO), we sought to analyse the relationship between static hyperinflation and occupational exposure in patients with COPD with or without occupational exposure.

Pulmonary circulation abnormalities in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome: dual-energy CT angiographic findings in 79 patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency and pattern of pulmonary vascular abnormalities in the year following COVID-19.

Methods: The study population included 79 patients remaining symptomatic more than 6 months after hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who had been evaluated with dual-energy CT angiography.

Results: Morphologic images showed CT features of (a) acute (2/79; 2.

The impact of occupational exposure to crystalline silica dust on respiratory function (airway obstruction and FEF) in the French general population.

Introduction: Although several studies have studied the relationship between occupational exposure to crystalline silica dust and respiratory mortality, few have examined the relationship with impairments in respiratory function and the exposure threshold triggering spirometric monitoring in exposed workers. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of exposure to crystalline silica dust on respiratory function.

Methods: We included 1428 male participants (aged 40 to 65) recruited from the French general population, at random from electoral rolls, in the cross-sectional ELISABET study and for whom data on forced expiratory flow-volume curve indices z-scores (calculated using the Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 equations) and exposure (via a questionnaire) were available.

Assessing the applicability of the new Global Lung Function Initiative reference values for the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide in a large population set.

Background: The single-breath diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) interpretation needs the comparison of measured values to reference values. In 2017, the Global Lung Function Initiative published new reference values (GLI-2017) for DLCO, alveolar volume (VA) and transfer coefficient of the lung for carbon monoxide (KCO). We aimed to assess the applicability of GLI-2017 reference values for DLCO on a large population by comparing them to the European Community of Steel and Coal equations of 1993 (ECSC-93) widely used.

Exhaled breath NOx levels in a middle-aged adults population-based study: reference values and association with the smoking status.

Background: Biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) are potentially sensitive indicators of early biochemical changes in airways following exposure to pneumotoxic substances, particularly in susceptible subjects. NOx are the stable end products of the nitrite-nitrate-NO oxidative stress pathway and can be used to monitor airway inflammatory diseases, especially in asthma. Nevertheless, population-based surveys are needed to better interpret EBC NOx levels in clinical studies.

Effects of occupational exposure to poorly soluble forms of beryllium on biomarkers of pulmonary response in exhaled breath of workers in machining industries.

Objective: To analyze the effects of occupational exposure to poorly soluble forms of beryllium (Be) on biomarkers of pulmonary inflammation using exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in workers employed in machining industries.

Methods: Twenty machining operators were compared to 16 controls. The individual exposure to Be was assessed from the work history with several indices of exposure calculated on the basis of task-exposures matrices developed for each plant using historical air measurements.

Beryllium in exhaled breath condensate as a biomarker of occupational exposure in a primary aluminum production plant.

Objective: Low beryllium exposure can induce pulmonary granulomatosis, so called berylliosis. For occupational health monitoring, it is more relevant to assess the internal dose of Be received by the lungs than urinary or atmospheric Be. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a matrix collected non-invasively that derives from the airway lining fluid.

Increased Levels of 8-Isoprostane in EBC of NO2-Exposed Rats.

Several epidemiological studies have shown the impact on respiratory health of pollution of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10), and ozone (O3) as an environmental mixture. However, the influence of individual components of airborne pollutants is less well known. Our study examined the cumulative effects of a single pollutant, NO2, on sensitized rats by measurement of isoprostane release in exhaled breath condensate (EBC).

Manganese in exhaled breath condensate: a new marker of exposure to welding fumes.

Objective: To evaluate manganese in exhaled breath condensate (Mn-EBC) as an indicator of exposure to fumes from metal inert gas welding process.

Methods: We collected EBC and urine from 17 welders and 16 unexposed control subjects after 5 days exposure. Concentrations of manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and chromium (Cr) were measured in EBC and urine samples and correlated with cumulative exposure indices for the working week (CIW) and for the total welding years (WY), based on duration of welding activity and atmospheric metal measurements.

Mica dust and pneumoconiosis: example of a pure occupational exposure in a muscovite milling unit.

Objective: We present pulmonary disorders of four employees who were exposed to high concentration of pure mica dust in a muscovite milling unit.

Method: All cases underwent traditional examinations with a dual-energy chest computed tomographic scan. An analysis of exhaled breath condensate by Raman microspectrometry and of mineralogical content of a lung biopsy was performed for one case.

Induced sputum, exhaled NO, and breath condensate in occupational medicine.

Objective: Studies of fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) or induced sputum are now well standardized and the exponential increase in publications about exhaled breath condensate reflects growing interest in a noninvasive diagnosis of pulmonary diseases in occupational medicine.

Methods: This review describes current techniques (FeNO, induced sputum, and exhaled breath condensate) for the study of inflammation and oxidative stress biomarkers.

Results: These biomarkers are FeNO, cytokines, H2O2, 8-isoprostane, malondialdehyde, and nitrogen oxides.

Non-invasive collection of exhaled breath condensate in rats: evaluation of pH, H₂O₂ and NOx in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury.

The analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) offers the potential for identifying lung disease markers in humans and animals, but methodological issues and standardised procedures need to be addressed before the technique can be considered for use in applications to help understand the role of environmental pollution in respiratory diseases. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a new device using a glass-chamber for collecting EBC non-invasively from rats in order to analyse EBC markers in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury. Eighty-four adult rats were used in five different series of experiments to determine the source of EBC formation, intra-day and inter-day variability, and the influence of environmental parameters on EBC markers.

Analysis of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of subjects with asthma as a complement to exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurements: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The study of pulmonary biomarkers with noninvasive methods, such as the analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC), provides a useful approach to the pathophysiology of asthma. Although many recent publications have applied such methods, numerous methodological pitfalls remain. The first stage of our study consisted of validating methods for the collection, storage and analysis of EBC; we next sought to clarify the utility of analysing nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the EBC of asthmatics, as a complement to measuring exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO).