Clinico-radiological profile and risk factors in patients with anthracosis

Anthracosis is the black pigmentation of the mucosal lining of the tracheo-bronchial tree. The significance of this finding is not known and often ignored. The aim of the present study is to find the association of anthracosis with demographic variables, biomass fuel and occupational exposure, respiratory diseases, radiological pattern and functional morbidity.

Enrolment of the subjects for the study was done at SMS hospital, Jaipur. Patients with anthracosis evident on bronchoscopy were included as the cases. Patients without anthracosis on bronchoscopy, matched according to age, gender and smoking habits, were included in the control group. Subjects in both the arms completed a questionnaire and also underwent computed tomography (CT) of the chest and six minute walk test (6MWT).

Thirty cases and 53 controls were included in the study. The patients with anthracosis presented with symptoms ranging from cough (76.65%), hemoptysis (46.6%), fever (26.6%), dyspnea (90%) and malaise (73.3%). Biomass fuel exposure for the cases was 35.13 ± 55.86 hours in a year and for the controls was 28.15 ± 40.09 hours in a year (P > 0.05). Stone mining was significantly associated with anthracosis (P < 0.05). CT chest revealed fibrosis (43.3%), consolidation (33.3%), cavitation (16.6%) and mass (46.6%) in the cases. Sixty percent of cases and 15% of controls were diagnosed to have either old or active pulmonary tuberculosis (P < 0.05).

Anthracosis is associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. Biomass exposure is not significantly associated with anthracosis. Post tubercular fibrosis is more common on CT chest of patients with anthracosis.