Acute silicosis; Chronic silicosis; Accelerated silicosis; Progressive massive fibrosis; Conglomerate silicosis; Silicoproteinosis

• Chronic cough
• Shortness of breath with exercise, usually in patients who have progressive massive fibrosis

Other symptoms of this disease, especially in acute silicosis:

• Cough
• Fever
• Severe breathing difficulty
• Weight loss

Your health care provider will take a medical history that includes many questions about your jobs (past and present), hobbies, and other activities that may have exposed you to silica. The health care provider will also do a physical exam.

Tests to confirm the diagnosis and rule out similar diseases include:

• Chest x-ray
• Pulmonary function tests
• Purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test (for tuberculosis)

Images

Coal workers pneumoconiosis, complicated #2

Coal worker's lungs - chest X-ray

Respiratory system

Coal workers pneumoconiosis - stage II

Coal workers pneumoconiosis - stage II #2

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Silicosis Overview

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Silicosis Treatment

Review Date: 04/16/2009
Reviewed By: David A. Kaufman, MD, Section Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health System, and Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)