* Asbestos fibers are inorganic particles of silicate type;
two types: serpentine (chrysotile) ;
amphibole (crocidolite)
* Exposed Professions: manufacture of insulation materials; joints; brake pad; shipbuilding; insulation (piping); Fire-prevention wall.
1- ASBESTOSIS OR DISTRIBUTION IN INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS:
* Linear or reticular opacities predominate in the lower lobes
* CT is the gold standard; curvilinear opacities parallel to the pleura; linear opacities perpendicular to the pleura;ground glass opacities
* Restrictive ventilatory disorders with the release of CO disorders
* The bronchoalveolar lavage is essential: asbestos bodies> 1 / ml
2- BENIGN PLEURAL EVENTS:
* Pleural plaques correspond to areas of pleural fibrosis;often asymptomatic; they are discontinuous and usually bilateral and asymmetric regular thickened; seat in the lower half of the chest, in particular at the level of the axillary parietal pleura and diaphragmatic pleura.
* Pleural calcifications are typically thin (in egg shell)
* Asbestos pleurisy: this is serofibrinous sérohémorragique or pleurisy; variegated form;paucisymptomatic but frequently recurrent. The association with pleural plaques is suggestive; Healing is often spontaneous.
3- TUMOR DISEASES:
* Malignant pleural mesothelioma: pleural effusion and chronic recurrent; the liquid is often hemorrhagic; high hyaluronic acid. ; chest pain insomniantes to advanced stages; the pleura is thickened, scalloped or hummocky;specific factors (vimentin, ACE) allow to differentiate metastatic pleurisy one adenocarcinoma.
* Primary lung cancer: all histological types can meet