Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis in Workers at an Indium Processing Facility

Overview

Journal Am J Respir Crit Care Med

Specialty Critical Care

Date 2009 Dec 19

PMID 20019344

Citations 54

Authors

Kristin J Cummings

Walter E Donat

David B Ettensohn

Victor L Roggli

Peter Ingram

Kathleen Kreiss

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Two cases of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, including one death, occurred in workers at a facility producing indium-tin oxide (ITO), a compound used in recent years to make flat panel displays. Both workers were exposed to airborne ITO dust and had indium in lung tissue specimens. One worker was tested for autoantibodies to granulocytemacrophage-colonystimulating factor (GM-CSF) and found to have an elevated level. These cases suggest that inhalational exposure to ITO causes pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, which may occur via an autoimmune mechanism.

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