Pneumoconiosis differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Dushka Riaz, MD

Overview

Pneumoconiosis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause chronic cough and dyspnea.

Differentiating Pneumoconiosis from other Diseases

Pneumoconiosis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause cough and dyspnea.

Differentiating pneumoconiosis from other diseases on the basis of dyspnea and cough

On the basis of cough and chronic dyspnea, pneumoconiosis must be differentiated from lung malignancy, tuberculosis, emphysema, asthma, interstitial lung disease, pneumonia, and sarcoidosis.

Diseases	Clinical manifestations						Para-clinical findings			Gold standard
	Symptoms			Physical examination
							Lab Findings		Imaging
	Chronic Dyspnea	Cough	Fever	Spirometry	Auscultation	Tachypnea	CBC	ABG	Imaging
Pneumoconiosis	+	+		↑ FEV1/FVC						HRCT
Lung Malignancy	+	+								Bronchoscopy
Tuberculosis	+	+								IFN-y assay and acid fast stain
Emphysema	+	+								Physical exam, spirometry
Asthma	+	+								Physical exam, spirometry before and after brondchodilator
Interstitial lung diseases	+	+								HRCT
Sarcoidosis	+	+								HRCT
Pneumonia	+	+								CXR, CT Scan