COPD Due to Occupational Biomass and Grain Dust Exposure: Case Report
Seher Kurtul1, Zeynep Dogrul1, Nejdiye Mazican1, Tuncay Goksel2, Meral Turk11Department of Public Health, Department of Occupational Diseases, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey, 2Department of Chest Diseases, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) is a common, preventable and treatable disease that is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and air flow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities usually caused by significant exposure to harmful particles or gases. The main risk factor for COPD is smoking but other environmental exposures such as biomass fuel exposure and air pollution may contribute. Besides exposures, host factors predispose individuals to develop COPD. These include genetic abnormalities, abnormal lung development and aging. Our case is a 34 years old, male patient with complaints of dispnea with exercise. No pathological findings were found on physical examination. There was no history of smoking. It was learned that the patient worked as a baker for a total of nine years in the occupational history. While working in the bakery, there was biomass exposure and graindust exposure as indoor air pollutants. A mild degree of obstruction was detected in the pulmonary function test. Bronchodilator reversibility response was negative.There was no abnormality on the chest X-ray and High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The ?-1 antitrypsin and cystic fibrosis sweat test levels were within normal limits, and the cystic fibrosis gene test was negative. Occupational COPD due to occupational biomass and grain dust exposure was considered in the patient who had no smoking history and congenital risk factors. This case, which is currently working in the weapons industry but has been exposed to occupational COPD risk factors in the past, shows the importance of taking a detailed occupational history while taking an anamnesis. Keywords: Biomass, COPD, occupation, grain dust
Cite This Article
Kurtul S, Dogrul Z, Mazican N, Goksel T, Turk M. COPD Due to Occupational Biomass and Grain Dust Exposure: Case Report. EJMI. 2021; 5(2): 289-290
Corresponding Author: Seher Kurtul