Silicosis classification
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Classification
Classification of silicosis is made according to the disease's severity, onset, and rapidity of progression. These include:
- Chronic silicosis
Occurs after 15-20 years of exposure to moderate to low levels of silica dust. Chronic silicosis itself is further subdivided into simple and complicated silicoses. This is the most common type of silicosis. Patients with this type of silicosis may not have obvious symptoms, so a chest X-ray is necessary to determine if there is lung damage.
- Asymptomatic silicosis
Early cases of the disease do not present any symptoms
- Accelerated silicosis
Silicosis that develops 5-10 years after high exposure to silica dust. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, weakness, and weight loss.
- Acute silicosis
Silicosis that develops a few months to 2 years after exposure to very high concentrations of silica dust. Symptoms of acute silicosis include severe disabling shortness of breath, weakness, and weight loss, often leading to death.
There are several different clinical and pathologic varieties of silicosis, including simple (nodular) silicosis
finding of fine nodules on plain chest film or CT scan;the nodules of simple silicosis are no greater than 1 cm in maximum diameter; larger nodules are classified as complicated pneumoconiosis, acute silicosis (silicoproteinosis), complicated pneumoconiosis (progressive massive fibrosis), and true diffuse interstitial fibrosis
Extremely high levels of silica exposure can result in the rapid appearance of silicoproteinosis or accelerated silicosis.