Overview
Introduction
Asbestosis is a delayed occupational interstitial lung disease: retained asbestos fibers cause scarring in the lung interstitium, often decades after exposure.
Asbestosis is a delayed occupational interstitial lung disease: retained asbestos fibers cause scarring in the lung interstitium, often decades after exposure. The practical pattern is a patient with exertional breathlessness, dry cough, bibasilar fine crackles, imaging evidence of fibrosis, and restrictive spirometry. Canada prohibited the manufacture, import, and sale of asbestos in 2018, but older asbestos-containing materials can still release fibers when disturbed. The 2021 technical guideline reduced the occupational exposure limit from 1 f/cc to 0.1 f/cc; prevention still depends on appropriate controls when legacy materials are inspected, repaired, or removed. The nurse’s priorities are to prevent further exposure, identify impaired oxygenation, support function, and escalate changes that could indicate infection, lung cancer, or mesothelioma.