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Case | Al-Kassimi’s case [7] | Zeren et al.’s case [2] | Our case |
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Age/sex | 70-year-old male | 57-year-old male | 77-year-old male |
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Occupation | Well digging, no more exposure | Plumbing fixture factory where he sprayed glazing compound, still exposed | Carving and grinding stones, no more exposure |
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Occurrence of pleural effusion in relation to time of silica exposure | More than 40 years | 32 years | More than 50 years |
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Onset of symptoms | Insidious | Subacute |
Acute on chronic |
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Presenting symptoms | Shortness of breath | Shortness of breath, pleuritic chest pain, and fever | Shortness of breath |
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Radiographic changes of patient regarding silicosis | Chest X-ray showed bilateral interstitial shadowing more pronounced in the upper zones with massive pulmonary fibrosis as well as right pleural effusion (simple silicosis) | The chest X-ray and CT scans showed thickening of the left pleura consistent with a chronic process and a small right pleural effusion (simple silicosis) | The chest X-ray and CT scans showed bilateral pleural effusion and thickening with bilateral small irregular opacities (simple silicosis) |
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Transbronchial biopsy | Birefringent particles compatible with silicosis; hyperplasia of mesothelial cells | Macrophage containing birefringent particles; hyperplasia of mesothelial cells | Histiocytes containing refractile foreign material, consistent with silicosis; hyperplasia of mesothelial cells |
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Pleural fluid analysis | Exudative pleural effusion with high LDH | Not reported |
Exudative pleural effusion with high LDH |
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Treatment & outcomes | Chemical pleurodesis; no recurrence in 3.5 years | Patient changes his job and his symptoms spontaneously resolved, resolved in 1 month, no recurrence in 3 years | Mechanical pleurodesis; no recurrence in 12 months |
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