Learn about the Specificity of Benign Pleural Lesions

Strictly defined pleural plaques are practically pathognomonic for asbestos exposure.

The visceral types of pleural lesions are more unspecific and may be found with many other types of pleuritis.

For the purpose of “sentinel radiologic findings” only pleural plaques are feasible, even if a cohort with a large number of unspecific pleural lesions of the visceral type should alert the epidemiologist.

To my knowledge, this has not been described in the literature, however.

It is important to realize the “shortcomings” of pleural plaques in this regard: the long latency time of 30 years or more; the strict definitions that are necessary to avoid overdiagnosis; and the fact that plaques are not rare in an industrialized society.