Antimoniosis: Radiological Insights into a Rare Pneumoconiosis in Miners

Pneumoconiosis describes diseases caused by the accumulation of inorganic dust particles in the lungs, leading to tissue damage. The diagnosis relies on a history of exposure and compatible radiological findings.

We aimed to investigate the radiological findings in individuals exposed to antimony-inert dust relative to their working periods.

Fifty-six symptomatic male antimony miners were retrospectively evaluated for demographics and chest computed tomography (CT) scans.

The demographic and radiological data of patients with a history of antimony mining, who presented at our pulmonary clinic between June 2017 and June 2023, were analyzed according to the duration of exposure.

The study included 56 male patients with a mean age of 58.5±13.02 years and a mean exposure duration of 13.63 ± 6.82 years. CT scans showed that 73.2% (n=41) had upper and middle lung zone involvement, and 55.4% (n=31) had extensive involvement. Micronodules with centriacinar ground-glass opacities were the most common finding (n=37, 66.1%), followed by nodular opacities with irregular margins (n=22, 39.3%) and solid micronodules (n=20, 35.7%). Patients with over 20 years of exposure had significantly higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (p<0.05). Increased exposure time correlated with more extensive parenchymal involvement and higher rates of calcification in mediastinal lymph nodes, solid micronodules, nodular opacities with irregular margins, honeycombing, and conglomerate mass appearance.

Radiological findings in pneumoconiosis generally worsen with longer exposure. Given the scarcity of up-to-date information on antimony pneumoconiosis, further studies focusing on radiological findings and chemical analyses of those exposed to antimony mine dust are essential to identify related pathologies.