Black-pigmented sputum

Abstract

Black-pigmented sputum, also called "melanoptysis," is a symptom that may be observed in certain pathologies such us coal workers′ pneumoconiosis (anthracosis). The cavitation and liquefaction of a fibrosed mass by an infectious process (tuberculosis, infections by anaerobes, etc.) or by ischemic necrosis may cause expectoration of a blackish secretion. We report the case of a patient with labor precedents as a coal worker, from whom abundant black sputum was obtained in the course of an incidental expectoration. Cyto-histological findings are shown and a differential diagnosis is established.

Keywords

• Anthracosis; black-pigmented sputum; melanoptysis