Exposure

• Aluminum Pot Room Workers

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Clinical Manifestations

Pulmonary Manifestations

• Occupational Asthma (“Pot Room Asthma”) (see Asthma-Occupational, [[Asthma-Occupational]])
• Aluminum Dust Pneumoconiosis/Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis (see Interstitial Lung Disease-Etiology, [[Interstitial Lung Disease-Etiology]])
  • Epidemiology
    • First reported in Germany in 1930’s
    • Most cases are associated with aluminum powder exposure or arc welding on aluminum: high levels of exposure are usually required
    • Latency: 3-15 years
  • Diagnosis
    • CXR/Chest CT: upper lobe-predominant reticular, nodular, or reticulonodular infiltrates
      • Diffuse, small, ill-defined centrilobular opacities may be seen
      • Increased lymph node attenuation seen in soft tissue windows on Chest CT
      • In advanced disease, emphysematous blebs may be seen
    • OLB: usual interstitial pneumonia-like pattern (see Usual Interstitial Pneumonia, [[Usual Interstitial Pneumonia]])
      • Pigmented macrophages around bronchovascular bundle
  • Treatment/Prognosis: usually progress despite removal from exposure
• Granulomatous Interstitial Lung Disease (see Granulomatous Lung Disease, [[Granulomatous Lung Disease]])
  • Diagnosis
    • FOB-BAL: helper T-lymphocyte alveolitis
    • FOB-TBB: sarcoid-like epithelioid granulomas
• Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonitis (see Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonia, [[Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonia]])
  • May occur with high levels of aluminum dust exposure
• Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (see Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis, [[Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis]])
  • May occur with high levels of aluminum dust exposure

Other Manifestations

• xxxx

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References

• Sarcoid-like lung granulomatosis induced by aluminum dusts. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987 Feb;135(2):493-7