[CT diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis]

In order to evaluate the usefulness of CT in CWP, 100 coal workers were examined with both chest radiograph and CT scan. Comparison was done, the result indicated that both modalities yielded similar sensitivity to simple CWP. The CT score of simple CWP correlated well with ILO classification and 1986 Chinese criteria for staging of pneumoconiosis, whereas in complicated CWP, the CT scan was significantly superior to chest radiograph. CT scan identified readily large opacities. It could detect large opacities in 40% of simple CWP diagnosed on the basis of chest radiograph. CT scan also identified more cavities and calcifications within large opacities. The CT attenuation values were less reliable. The authors were of the opinion that at present CT attenuation values is not recommended for routine evaluation of CWP.