How many asbestos bodies are necessary to diagnose asbestosis
The diagnosis of asbestosis by the pathologist requires the presence of both parenchymal fibrosis and asbestos bodies (AB's). To determine how many AB's are necessary for the diagnosis, they counted them in histologic sections and tissue extracts from the lungs of 14 men with pulmonary fibrosis, a history of asbestos exposure, and no other known cause of lung disease. They used electron-optical methods to type and quantify the asbestos fibers for correlation with the AB counts. They found histologic and extracted AB's (r = 0.84) and extracted AB's and combined amosite and crocidolite (AC) fibers (r = 0.94) to be closely correlated (logarithmically), but extracted AB's and total amphibole fibers (r = 0.8) were less so. Nine subjects had fewer than 1.4 AB's/cm/sup 2/ in 2 iron-stained tissue sections: 2 had none. Other amphibole fibers, which do not form bodies so readily as AC fibers, constituted an average of 67% of all the amphibole fibers in these 9 subjects, but only 1% in the others. A concentration of 0.35 bodies/cm/sup 2/ always signified a concentration of AB's over 1000/g dry lung - a concentration that they believe is associated with asbestos-related disease. For subjects with fewer AB's/cm/sup 2/, AB counts, simpler to perform than fiber counts, were over 1000/g in 2 cases. For 2 subjects, fiber counts were necessary to confirm the history of asbestos exposure and to make the diagnosis of asbestosis.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, San Francisco
- OSTI ID:
- 6933103
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8604222-
- Journal Information:
- Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Journal Name: Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States) Vol. 45:4; ISSN FEPRA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ASBESTOS
BODY
DISEASES
FIBERS
FIBROSIS
LUNGS
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
TOXICITY