Respiratory · UKMLA & AKT
Asbestos-related pleural disease
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test, covering how to recognise this condition. The full SA Note notes add investigations, management and complications, with practice questions on this topic.
Key high-yield points
- Four distinct conditions: pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, benign asbestos pleural effusion, malignant mesothelioma - can coexist
- Latency of 20-40 years from first exposure to presentation
- Typical patient: man >60, occupational history in shipbuilding, construction, insulation (1960s-70s); also ask about para-occupational exposure (e.g. spouse's contaminated workwear)
- Amphibole fibres (crocidolite - blue asbestos) most carcinogenic; serpentine chrysotile (white) least
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