Respiratory · UKMLA & AKT
Asbestosis and 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
- Caused by inhalation of asbestos fibres - latency 20-40 years between exposure and disease
- Predominantly affects men >60 who worked in shipbuilding, construction, insulation, plumbing (1950s-1980s)
- Asbestos banned in UK 1999; ~2,500 mesothelioma deaths/year in UK
- Amphibole fibres (crocidolite 'blue', amosite 'brown') - straight, biopersistent, most pathogenic; crocidolite highest mesothelioma risk
Asbestos + smoking = multiplicative (not additive) risk for lung cancer - estimated ~50-90x baseline risk. Smoking cessation is the single most important intervention.
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