An 85-year-old, never-smoking man presented with exertional dyspnea. He had been exposed to silica dust in the work place. Chest computed tomography revealed bronchial wall thickening without emphysema. A pulmonary function test showed airflow obstruction without impaired gas transfer. Airway hyperresponsiveness and reversibility were not evident. A transbronchial lung biopsy showed findings suggestive of mineral dust exposure, such as fibrosis and slight pigmentation of bronchioles. He was diagnosed with non-smoking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to occupational exposure to silica dust. His symptoms were improved using an inhaled long-acting bronchodilator. The clinical characteristics of non-smoking COPD are discussed in this report.

作者：Kazuo, Tsuchiya；Mikio, Toyoshima；Yosuke, Kamiya；Yutaro, Nakamura；Satoshi, Baba；Takafumi, Suda

来源：Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) 2017 年 56卷 13期