[Clinical study on pneumoconiosis with pulmonary thromboembolism]

To probe into the clinical features and the rescue of pneumoconiosis with pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE).

26 patients with pneumoconiosis and PTE, male 16, female 10, were collected from June 2002 to June 2006 and 42 patients only with pneumoconiosis served as control. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), thrombomodulin (TM), plasma protein S, C (Ps, Pc), homocysteine (Hcy) were measured by the methods of ILISA, and antithrombin (AT-III) by chromo substrate method before and after the treatment of heparin.

The average age of patients with pneumoconiosis and PTE was 66.0 +/- 11.9 years old. The number of patients with pneumoconiosis of degree 1, 2, 3 was 3, 16 and 7 respectively. After anticoagulant therapy of heparin, 23 were well improved, and 3 died of acute respiratory failure. Dyspnea, chest pain, hemoptysis, syncope were the conspicuous symptoms. The levels of D-Dimer (0.63 +/- 0.14 mg/L), TM (5.02 +/- 1.24 microg/L) were significantly higher than those of the control (P < 0.05), and significantly lower again after the treatment (P < 0.05). The level of AT-III (96.68 +/- 7.23%) was significantly lower than that of the control, and higher again after the treatment (P < 0.05).

PTE is often developed in the elder patients with high degree of pneumoconiosis (> or = 2 degree). Clinical features are complicated and non-specific, with the high negative ratio of D-Dimer (7/26), high mortality and high complications of anticoagulant therapy.