Asbestos Bodies Burden in the Autopsy Lung Tissue from General Thai Population.
Open Respir Med J 2019;
13:5-10. [PMID:
31929836 PMCID:
PMC6935945 DOI:
10.2174/1874306401913010005]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Chrysotile asbestos has been used in Thailand for over 30 years mainly in asbestos-cement wall and roof tiles. In non-exposed subject, asbestos fiber can contaminate in ambient indoor and outdoor environments.
Objective
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the current prevalence and volume of AB load in general Thai population.
Methods
Lung tissues were obtained from 200 autopsy cases. Asbestos Bodies (AB) were identified with light microscopy using the tissue digestion and membrane filtration method. Results are reported as AB/g wet lung tissue.
Results
AB was identified in 97(48.5%) out of 200 cases. The AB level ranged from 0.19-14.4 AB/g wet lung. Most of the positive cases (99%) have less than 10 AB/g wet lung. Only one case exhibited a high value at 14.4 AB/g wet lung. Age, gender, occupation and hometown were found to have no effect on AB burden in autopsy lung tissue from this study.
Conclusion
The prevalence of AB in autopsy lung tissue from general Thai population is 48.5% and the AB level ranges from 0-14.4 AB/g wet lung in consistent with non-occupational asbestos exposure level regarding several reference reports.
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