[Long-term consequences of lung injuries in flax scutchers]

A female patient, 60 years old, had been working as a flax scutcher for 20 years. Sectional investigation showed fissural thin-walled caverns in the superior lobe of the lung. Histologic investigation revealed granulomas of epithelioid and lymphoid cells in the lungs, pleura, spleen, and silicon dioxide crystals in the lung tissue. The clinical picture resulted from a combined action of flax dust particles and silicon dioxide, and was similar to those of allergic exogenous alveolitis and late stages of silicosis, which attributed it to the occupational diseases of flax scutchers.