CT scans more useful than x-rays in diagnosing asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening
Although asbestos is no longer commonly used in this country in building materials and brake linings, physicians continue to see patients suffering after exposure to the substance, given that asbestos-related diseases take decades to develop. One of the diseases caused by asbestos is diffuse pleural thickening (DPT), an extensive fibrosis of the lung. In a recent study, scientists report that high resolution computed tomography (CT) is better suited for the diagnosis of diffuse pleural thickening than is the more traditional x-ray because a CT scan is more sensitive and specific than a chest x-ray. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scanning are often successfully employed to distinguish between DPT and mesothelioma. Neither diagnosis is welcome: DPT is a progressive disease for which there is no cure or treatment and causes shortness of breath and chest pain; but pleural mesothelioma is a rare and painful cancer of the lining of the lung. The study explains that asbestos-related DPT is increasingly common given the great number of workers who were previously exposed to asbestos on the job. Asbestos-related pleural disorders may also be caused by household exposure, however, in persons who never worked around the substance themselves.
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