Current opinion in pulmonary medicine
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Military personnel and civilian contractors who have deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other south-west Asia locations since 2001 may be at risk for a spectrum of disorders collectively known as deployment-related respiratory diseases. Diagnosis is often challenging as typical symptoms of cough, dyspnea, and decreased exercise tolerance may be accompanied by subtle abnormalities on noninvasive diagnostic testing despite significant histopathologic abnormalities identified on lung biopsy. This review describes the emerging spectrum of deployment-related respiratory diseases, addresses diagnostic challenges, and updates recommendations for evaluation and management. ⋯ We propose a diagnostic and management algorithm for evaluation of the patient with postdeployment respiratory symptoms who are at risk of deployment-related lung disease.
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Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis is increasingly recognized as an important mimic of other fibrotic lung diseases. This review will summarize recent data regarding the importance and difficulty of determining causative exposures both for accurate diagnosis and prognosis, and describe the expanded pathologic spectrum of the disease, the effects of fibrosis on prognosis and challenges in the diagnostic evaluation. ⋯ Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is increasingly recognized as an important cause of fibrotic interstitial lung disease. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis demonstrates a remarkable tendency to mimic other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. A detailed exposure history remains a cornerstone of diagnosis and management.
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Recent epidemiologic investigations suggest that occupational and environmental exposures contribute to the overall burden of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This article explores the epidemiologic and clinical challenges to establishing exposure associations, the current literature regarding exposure disease relationships and the diagnostic work-up of IPF and asbestosis patients. ⋯ An accumulating body of literature suggests that occupational and environmental exposure can contribute to the development of IPF. The impact of exposure on the pathogenesis and clinical course of disease requires further study.