Journal Top Ten, COLUMNS-Asbestos, July 2004

1 TITLE: "Factors Associated With Early-Stage Pulmonary Fibrosis as Determined by High-Resolution Computed Tomography Among Persons Occupationally Exposed to Asbestos."

SUMMARY: The aim of the study was to determine criteria for independently associated features of pulmonary fibrosis in high-resolution computed tomograms among persons occupationally exposed to asbestos. Retired people with documented occupational asbestos exposure and no known asbestos-related diseases were assessed for occupational, clinical, functional respiratory, and chest X-ray criteria. Altogether, 51 of the 706 enrolled participants had features of pulmonary fibrosis consistent with asbestosis in the HRCT. In multivariate analysis, only age, cumulative-exposure index for asbestos …