Abstract
A 62 year-old man, who had been exposed to asbestos for 25 years, was first admitted to our hospital for further examinations, as a result of chest pain and right bloody pleural effusion, on May 8, 1982. Treatment with antituberculous drugs for a month before admission had not been effective, and an accurate diagnosis could not be made in spite of various examinations, including the decortication of the pleura. He was readmitted to our hospital on January 26, 1983, because of chest pain and left bloody pleural effusion. Physical examination on admission revealed dullness to percussion with decreased breath sound at the lower and posterior region of the left lung. Asbestos bodies were identified in sputum. Furthermore these were observed microscopically in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid and transbronchial lung biopsy specimens. Findings suggested pulmonary tuberculosis, malignant disease, infectious diseases, collagen disease, pancreatic diseases, pulmonary diagnostic examinations. We concluded that this recurrent pleural effusion was a result of the presence of asbestosis.
