Effectiveness of CT for Clinical Stratification of Occupational Lung Edema

Abstract

We treated two occupational lung diseases in different situations during military training.The purpose of this study is to investigate the availability of CT scanning for the evaluation of inhalation pulmonary edema. Two soldiers suffered severe lung edema after using a spray for the daily maintenance of their firearms. Four soldiers suffered severe dyspnea after undertaking drills in a narrow zone where numerous smoke bombs had been used. We evaluated these patients from several aspects. CT scans of the chest of spray-induced patients revealed bilateral infiltration predominantly in the upper lung fields. The patients received steroid pulse treatment and gradually recovered. CT scans of the chest of smoke-induced patients revealed bilateral ground-glass attenuation with peripheral lung sparing. The patients gradually recovered with steroid therapy. In accordance with previous studies, CT scans of the chest in our patients demonstrated that the periphery of the lungs remained normal, except in cases of serious injury. When differential diagnosis is required, we consider that CT scans of the chest are particularly useful; CT findings are useful in determining the severity of lung injury as well as the diagnosis of inhalation pulmonary edema.

Polytetrafluoroethylene fume–induced pulmonary edema: a case report and review of the literature

“…Next, clinical features including patient characteristics, the situation under which exposure occurred, symptoms, treatment and outcome were reviewed by three intensivists (RH, YO, and RI). One report was excluded because of insufficient information [ 3 ], leaving 16 reports and 17 relevant cases [ 1 , 2 , 4 - 16 ] for inclusion in this review. The temperature of the overheated PTFE was estimated based on information in the relevant reports (molding settings [ 4 , 5 , 11 ], cigarettes [ 17 ] and an overheated pan [ 18 ]).…”

“…The distribution of the disease and the dominant lesion were also noted. Thirteen reports without CT findings were excluded [ 1 , 4 - 14 ], resulting in four reports [ 2 , 3 , 15 , 16 ] and eight cases ultimately being eligible for inclusion in this review.…”

Animal models of smoke inhalation induced injuries

“…With steroid therapy, gradual recovery of the soldiers was noted. CT is found to be useful for determining severity of lung injury and diagnosis of inhalation pulmonary edema (60). Additionally, data obtained from 1057 older adults shows that lifetime exposure to second-hand smoke results in a greater decline in lung function and risk of cardiovascular mortality, accounting for confounders, mediating effect of FEV1 and baseline cardiovascular diseases (61).…”

Expecting Industrial Health to bridge occupational medicine and environmental health for more rational perfluoroalkyl substances risk assessment

“…This paper has been cited in official risk assessment documents from the United States 10 ) and the WHO 11 ) , contributing to the derivation of regulatory values. Another innovative contribution of this journal includes a report of a large volume of cases of polymer fume fever containing PTFE and likely PFOA 12 ) . Since PFAS have been widely used in many industrial sites in Japan, further contributions from this journal, which has addressed industrial epidemiology, are expected.…”