PULMONARY FIBROSIS IN A CARPENTER WITH LONG-LASTING EXPOSURE TO FIBERGLASS

A 56-year-old male carpenter had a history of glass fiber inhalation f or 41 years without any protective device. His chest radiograph showed small nodular opacities in lower lung fields and multiple cystic lesi ons and low attenuation areas in upper lung fields. Light and polarizi ng microscopic examinations of his transbronchial lung biopsy specimen revealed mild interstitial fibrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration in alveolar walls without birefringent substances. However, widesprea d depositions of small glass fibers (<2.5 mu m in length and 0.3 mu m in diameter) were detected by analytical electron microscopy, which su ggested their possible contribution to the development of his pulmonar y fibrosis. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.