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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
To help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis, provide him or her with a detailed history of your work activities and any other sources of possible exposure to toxic dusts. Tell your doctor about the availability of dust masks and other respiratory-protection devices in your workplace. Your doctor may also ask if you know of any fellow employees who have been diagnosed with a condition caused by exposure to asbestos.
Your doctor may detect a dry, crackling sound when listening to your lungs with a stethoscope. You may also undergo these diagnostic tests:
- Pulmonary function tests. These tests determine how well your lungs are functioning and may help in the diagnosis. Pulmonary function tests measure how much air your lungs can hold and the airflow in and out of your lungs. For example, you may be asked to blow as hard as you can into an air-measurement device called a spirometer. Some pulmonary function tests measure the amount of gas exchanged across the membrane between your alveoli and capillary blood vessels.
- Chest X-ray. A chest X-ray can often detect abnormalities in your lungs before you experience any symptoms. On an X-ray, areas of scar tissue that appear as small, scattered, opaque areas on the lining of your lungs are called pleural plaques. Although they indicate previous exposure to asbestos, they are not a predictor of asbestosis or malignant mesothelioma, a cancer that can occur in the tissue that surrounds the lungs. Asbestosis appears as excessive whiteness in your lung tissue. If the asbestosis is advanced, your entire lung may be affected, giving it a honeycomb appearance.
- Computerized tomography (CT) scan. In some cases, your doctor may request a computerized tomography (CT) scan of your lungs. These scans generally provide greater detail than does a usual chest X-ray. This may help detect asbestosis in its early stages, even before it shows up on the chest X-ray.
If you have ever had these tests in the past, try to get copies of those reports — and of actual X-ray films, if possible — to share with your doctor. These will provide critical information to help diagnose your condition.
- O'Reilly KM. Asbestos-related lung disease. American Family Physician. 2007;75:683.
- Cowie, RL, et al. Asbestos-related fibrosis of the lungs (asbestosis). In:
- Mason, RJ, et al. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: W.B. Saunders; 2005:1748.
- Asbestos-related disorders. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch057/ch057c.html. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Asbestos exposure: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- What are the risk factors for malignant mesothelioma? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_malignant_mesothelioma_29.asp. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Asbestos exposure. Family Practice Notebook. http://www.fpnotebook.com/Lung/Asbestos/AsbstsExpsr.htm. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Asbestos: General information. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/asbestos/health_effects/index.html. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 23, 2008.
