User:Brown Mushroom/Chalicosis

Risk Factors
Occupations with significant exposure to stone dust are at an increased risk of chalicosis. Example of occupations:


 * Millers


 * Miners
 * Stone cutters and stone masons
 * Quarry workers
 * Pottery and porcelain casters
 * Tunneller/tunnel workers
 * Foundry workers
 * Plasterers


 * Carpenters

Signs and Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of chalicosis are slow to develop and thus patients may not show signs of incapacity until years after exposure. It may even take up to 10 years before manifestations of the disorder are present. Signs and symptoms include:


 * Dyspnea (uncomfortable breathing sensation/shortness of breath) aggravated by exertion
 * Chronic, non-productive cough
 * Expelled matter, such as phlegm, from the throat or lungs stained gray, black, or red
 * Wheezing
 * Loss of appetite
 * Fatigue
 * Emaciation
 * Soreness in stomach region
 * General malaise

Treatment
There is no definitive cure for chalicosis, nor is there a specific targeted therapy (Chalicosis, 2018). Current treatment of this lung disorder primarily involves managing respiratory symptoms, associated comorbidities, and complications, with the overarching goal of enhancing the patient's quality of life. These include:

Acute Pharmacotherapies

 * Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that can be used for acute management of chalicotic symptoms.. They are not recommended for chronic management.

Chronic Pharmacotherapies

 * Whole lung lavage uses saline solution to wash out lodged particles in the lungs.
 * Bronchodilators dilate the bronchi and bronchioles to increase airflow to the lungs.
 * Oxygen therapy or supplemental oxygen is a medical treatment that provides extra oxygen, often to prevent complications of chronic hypoxemia.
 * Pulmonary rehabilitation is a therapeutic concept which utilizes a series of services to aid improved breathing.
 * Antifibrotics.
 * Smoking cessation.


 * Lung transplantation is a last resort in which one lung, both, or damaged lung tissue are replaced with a donor during a surgical procedure.

Historical Case Studies
The following is a case study of pneumoconiosis conducted by assistant physician Erik Grahn overlooked by head physician and director A. Gullbring. A porcelain worker who has been in his occupation of glazing China in a factory for 20 years was admitted to a sanatorium in 1915 and 1916. His work exposed him to high levels of quartz, lead, and other stone minerals. The patient reported feeling tired and showed signs of fever. He was diagnosed with third stage tuberculosis of the lungs on both visits. The patient stayed in the sanatorium for three months each time until his symptoms improved somewhat. However, his condition worsened once he returned to work and by the end of March, 1918, he could not even get out of bed. Shortly thereafter, he was admitted to a hospital at Söderby. The man presented with the following symptoms: exhaustion, coughing, breathlessness, tiredness, fever, muscle degeneration, and emaciation. Both lungs exhibited a grayish-black color and contained small, round particles. These findings, combined with evidence that contradicts a tuberculosis infection, led to a suspicion of pneumoconiosis. The man’s condition further plummeted and he died a few weeks later. The suspicion of chalicosis was later confirmed in the man's post-mortem examination that demonstrated abnormalities in color and râles.