Antimoniosis: Radiological Insights into a Rare Pneumoconiosis in Miners

Abstract

Ahmet Cemal Pazarlı,1 Hüseyin Alper Kızıloğlu,2 Handan Inönü Köseoğlu1 1Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University Faculty of Medicine, Tokat, Turkey; 2Department of Radiology, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University Faculty of Medicine, Tokat, TurkeyCorrespondence: Ahmet Cemal Pazarlı, Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Faculty of Medicine, Tokat, Turkey, Tel [phone], Fax [phone], Email [email protected]: Pneumoconiosis describes diseases caused by the accumulation of inorganic dust particles in the lungs, leading to tissue damage. The diagnosis relies on a history of exposure and compatible radiological findings.Background: We aimed to investigate the radiological findings in individuals exposed to antimony-inert dust relative to their working periods.Objective: Fifty-six symptomatic male antimony miners were retrospectively evaluated for demographics and chest computed tomography (CT) scans.Methods: The demographic and radiological data of patients with a history of antimony mining, who presented at our pulmonary clinic between June 2017 and June 2023, were analyzed according to the duration of exposure.Results: The study included 56 male patients with a mean age of 58.5± 13.02 years and a mean exposure duration of 13.63 ± 6.82 years. CT scans showed that 73.2% (n=41) had upper and middle lung zone involvement, and 55.4% (n=31) had extensive involvement. Micronodules with centriacinar ground-glass opacities were the most common finding (n=37, 66.1%), followed by nodular opacities with irregular margins (n=22, 39.3%) and solid micronodules (n=20, 35.7%). Patients with over 20 years of exposure had significantly higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (p< 0.05). Increased exposure time correlated with more extensive parenchymal involvement and higher rates of calcification in mediastinal lymph nodes, solid micronodules, nodular opacities with irregular margins, honeycombing, and conglomerate mass appearance.Conclusion: Radiological findings in pneumoconiosis generally worsen with longer exposure. Given the scarcity of up-to-date information on antimony pneumoconiosis, further studies focusing on radiological findings and chemical analyses of those exposed to antimony mine dust are essential to identify related pathologies.Keywords: rare lung diseases, antimony, pneumoconiosis, computerized thorax tomography, ground-glass opacities, lymph nodes

Keywords

• rare lung diseases
• antimony
• pneumoconiosis
• computerized thorax tomography
• ground-glass opacities
• lymph nodes