Citation Information :
Panchadhyayee P, Saha K, Saha I, Ta RK, Ghosh S, Saha A, Barma P, Mitra M. Rapidly Fatal Silicosis Among Jewellery Workers Attending a District Medical College of West Bengal, India. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci 2015; 57 (3):165-171.
Background. Silicosis is a slowly progressive chronic occupational lung disease, developed after a prolong period of exposure to high concentration of silica dust.
Methods. In this longitudinal study, we enrolled old and new silicosis patients (n=19; 8 jewellery polishers, 11 from other occupations) seen at our Pulmonary Medicine Department from June 2009 to December 2012 to document the course of illness as per their occupational exposure.
Results. Six of the eight jewellery polishing workers had developed silicosis within five years of exposure, while six of the 11 other workers with other occupational exposure had developed silicosis after exposure of 10 years or more. Mean duration of exposure was significantly less among jewellery polishing workers compared to other workers (3.4±1.7 versus 9.3±4.1; p=0.001). Mean duration of illness (months) (14.9±5.8 versus 28.5±16.5; p=0.040) were significantly less among the jewellery polishing workers compared to other workers. At the end of the study period, all eight jewellery polishing workers with silicosis had died while four of the 11 patients with other occupational exposure had died.
Conclusion. Silicosis among jewellery polishing workers was found to be more severe and progressive compared to silicosis due to other occupational exposures, in our study.
Mittleman RE, Welti CV. The fatal cafe coronary: foreignbody airway obstruction. JAMA 1982;247:1285–8.
Elmes PC. Inorganic dusts. In: Raffle PAB, Adams PH, Baxter PJ, Lee WR, editors Hunter's Diseases of Occupations. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.; 1994:pp421–8.
Leitch AG. Functions of lungs. In: Seaton A, Seaton D, Leitch AG, editors Crofton and Douglas's Respiratory Diseases. London: Blackwell Science Ltd; 2000:pp26–62.
Kimura K, Nakano I, Ohtsuka Y, Okamoto K, Usami I, Onishi K, et al. Today's occupational respiratory disease—from our recent investigations. Hokkaido Igaku Zasshi 2010;85:27–30.
Chaudhury N, Phatak A, Paliwal R, Raichaudhari C. Silicosis among agate workers at Shakarpur: an analysis of clinic-based data. Lung India 2010;27:221–4.
Zanin F, Lievore F, Zanon P, Piz C. Acute silicosis in jewelry casting. G Ital Med Lav Ergon 1999;21:266–70.
China Labour Bulletin. December 2005. The silicosis epidemic among guangdong jewellery workers and the defects of china's occupational illnesses prevention and compensation system: deadly dust. CLB Research Series: No.1.
Yanhong T. Dust from stone-cutting engenders stubborn illness – guangdong's jewellery processing industry under the dark shadow of silicosis. Zhongguo Jingying Bao (China Business News), August 29, 2004. China Labour Bulletin, December 2005.
World Health Organization. Global Occupational Health Network. Elimination of silicosis. GOHNET Newsletter 12. Geneva: World Health Organization Global Occupational Health Network; 2007.
Jindal SK. Silicosis in India: past and present. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2013;19:163–8.
Cowie RL, Murray J, Becklake MR. Pneumoconioses and other mineral dust–related diseases. In: Mason RJ, Broaddus VC, Martin TR, King TE Jr, Schraufnagel DE, Murray JF, Nadel JA, editors Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2010:pp1554–86.
International Labour Office (ILO). Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses. Revised edition. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization; 2000.
Laszlo G. Standardisation of lung function testing: helpful guidance from the ATS/ERS Task Force. Thorax 2006;61:744–6.
Chatterjee S, Saha D, Chattopadhayay BP. Pulmonary function studies in healthy non-smoking men of Calcutta. Ann Hum Biol 1988;15:365–74.
Pellegrino R, Viegi G, Brusasco V, Crapo RO, Burgos F, Casaburi R, et al. Interpretative strategies for lung function tests. Eur Respir J 2005;26:948–68.
Buechner HA, Ansari A. Acute silico-proteinosis: a new pathologic variant of acute silicosis in sandblasters, characterized by histologic features resembling alveolar proteinosis. Dis Chest 1969;55:274–8.
Xipell JM, Ham KN, Price CG, Thomas DP. Acute silicoproteinosis. Thorax 1977;32:104–11.
Zimmerman PV, Sinclair RA. Rapidly progressive fatal silicosis in a young man. Med J Aust 1977;2:704–6.
Banks DE, Bauer MA, Castellan RM, Lapp NL. Silicosis in surface coalmine drillers. Thorax 1983;38:275–8.
Rees D, Murray J. Silica, silicosis and tuberculosis. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2007;11:474–84.
Brown T. Silica exposure, smoking, silicosis and lung cancer—complex interactions. Occup Med (Lond) 2009;59:89–95.
Tiwari RR, Sharma YK. Respiratory health of female stone grinders with free silica dust exposure in Gujarat, India. Int J Occup Environ Health 2008;14:280–2.
