Asbestosis and silicosis are the most common pneumoconioses in Québec and are often associated with a gradual deterioration in pulmonary function. The authors of this publication studied the possible role of induced expectoration (IE), a non-invasive technique for analyzing bronchial inflammation, in evaluating the severity of pneumoconioses and a decline in pulmonary function. They wanted to verify whether some markers of the inflammatory and fibrosis processes can be measured in IE and whether they are predictors of clinical evolution.
The authors believe that their findings will have to be verified on a larger number of workers, but that induced expectoration could be used to evaluate workers and to follow subjects at risk.