Computed Tomography Study Shows Emergence of Silicosis in Engineered Stone Countertop Workers

Preliminary computed tomography (CT) findings from a 21-patient cohort of engineered stone countertop workers (with a median exposure of 18 years) revealed that all of the workers had the lung disease silicosis, which was missed by 81 percent of primary care clinicians and 67 percent of radiologists at the initial presentation.¹

In a recent interview at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, lead study author Sundus Lateef, M.D., said high exposure to silica dust in engineered stone countertops can lead to devastating lung disease. In addition to seeing classical features of pervasive lung nodules representing silicosis on CT scans, Dr. Lateef says advanced presentations included pneumothorax as well as large lung lesions with cavitations that mimic infection.

“When a provider sees these features, they may think that the person has an atypical infection, like a fungal infection, when in fact, they have an underlying disease, silicosis, which is making them more vulnerable to things like infection and even lung cancer,” noted Dr. Lateef, a second-year diagnostic radiology resident at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

However, Dr. Lateef noted that 48 percent of the cohort had atypical features on CT, including diffuse, small nodules throughout the lung, large opacities not only in the upper lung zones, but in the lower lung zones, and ground glass attenuation.

(Editor’s note: For additional coverage from the RSNA conference, click here.)

While Dr. Lateef noted the early stage of this research, she emphasized the importance of timely detection and appropriate ventilation and masking for workers to prevent worsening of silicosis.

“It is really important that the general clinician and the general radiologist be aware of silicosis and the ways that it can present so we can protect more people, especially vulnerable patients like the ones in our study,” said Dr. Lateef.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “New Study Suggests Lung-Related Comorbidities Have No Impact on Lung Cancer Detection,” “Computed Tomography Study Finds Nearly 44 Percent of Interstitial Lung Abnormalities Are Not Reported” and “Should FAPI PET/CT be the New Standard of Care for Detecting Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Lung Cancer?”)

For more insights from Dr. Lateef, watch the video below.

Reference

1. Lateef S, Oh A, Chung JH, et al. Resurgence of an epidemic: crippling silicosis in engineered countertop workers — a pilot single institutional cross-sectional study. Poster presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2024 110^th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting Dec. 1-5, 2024. Available at: https://www.rsna.org/annual-meeting .