[Clinical aspects and diagnosis of chronic berylliosis--a case report]

Three case reports of patients with chronic berylliosis are presented. The examination findings of these three cases are all unspecific. Merely the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT), which has, in the meantime, become an established procedure, is capable of demonstrating, at a high level of sensitivity and specificity, the presence of sensitisation towards beryllium, a condition that accompanies the disease itself. All three patients showed a positive LTT. A modification of the diagnostic criteria worked out by Sprince, is proposed, which takes into account the LTT performed in blood and bronchoalveolar fluid.