Fluorine detection in the lung tissue of a worker with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and long-term occupational exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene and perfluorooctanoic acid.

Fluorine detection in the lung tissue of a worker with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and long-term occupational exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene and perfluorooctanoic acid. Ultrastruct Pathol. 2020 Nov 17;:1-5 Authors: Butnor KJ, Covington J, Taatjes DJ, DeWitt J, Von Turkovich MA Abstract Exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a compound used in nonstick cookware coating and a variety of other applications, is known to cause acute lung injury and granulomatous pneumonitis. It is uncertain whether PTFE and compounds used in its manufacture, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), cause chronic lung disease. Here we report a case of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis in a 71-year-old man who died following a brief illness clinically suspected to be acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had a 25-year history of occupational exposure to PTFE and PFOA. At postmortem examination, the lungs demonstrated diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) superimposed on interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. The interstitial fibrosis lacked fibroblast foci and exhibited basilar and subpleural accentuation with focal microscopic honeycombing. Within the fibrotic lung parenchyma were scattered giant cells containing birefringent translucent particles. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were performed. A majority of the birefringent particles demonstrated a prominent peak for fluorine by EDS analysis. This is the firs...
Source: Ultrastructural Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Ultrastruct Pathol Source Type: research