Firefighters still paying price for 9/11
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
A lung specialist from Israel who went to examine firefighters who had been at the World Trade Center on 9/11 found that as many as eight in 10 had some respiratory disorder. Dr. Izbicki Gabriel, a senior physician at the pulmonary institute of Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center, was with a team that examined firefighters and found widespread "sarcoid-like" granulomatous pulmonary disease. Their study, which appeared in the prestigious journal Chest, revealed a high incidence - five times more among the same population, compared to the 15 years before the terror attack - of the lung disease sarcoidosis.
"Maybe the most important message is that most of the lung damage could have been avoided if the firefighters had worn masks. This is of course also important for Israeli firefighters, policemen, soldiers and others."
Previous reports, they wrote, suggest that sarcoidosis - an inflammation that produces tiny lumps called granulomas because they look like grains of sand or sugar - occurs with abnormally high frequency in firefighters. "We sought to determine whether exposure to World Trade Center 'dust' during the collapse and rescue/recovery effort increased the incidence of sarcoidosis or sarcoid-like granulomatous pulmonary disease."
On the basis of their study (comparing results of medical exams before the disaster with those afterward), the researchers identified 26 men who had developed lung disease as a result of their exposure to the "dust" from the collapse. Many of these also had symptoms of asthma. It was the first study of its kind describing lung disease in World Trade Center rescuers.
"These results add new insights into the etiology of sarcoid-like granulomatous pulmonary disease and sarcoidosis, and provide increased attention to disease prevention and surveillance following environmental/occupational exposures," they concluded.
So far, five of the firefighters have already qualified for permanent pulmonary disability benefits.
A lung specialist from Israel who went to examine firefighters who had been at the World Trade Center on 9/11 found that as many as eight in 10 had some respiratory disorder. Dr. Izbicki Gabriel, a senior physician at the pulmonary institute of Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center, was with a team that examined firefighters and found widespread "sarcoid-like" granulomatous pulmonary disease. Their study, which appeared in the prestigious journal Chest, revealed a high incidence - five times more among the same population, compared to the 15 years before the terror attack - of the lung disease sarcoidosis.
"Maybe the most important message is that most of the lung damage could have been avoided if the firefighters had worn masks. This is of course also important for Israeli firefighters, policemen, soldiers and others."
Previous reports, they wrote, suggest that sarcoidosis - an inflammation that produces tiny lumps called granulomas because they look like grains of sand or sugar - occurs with abnormally high frequency in firefighters. "We sought to determine whether exposure to World Trade Center 'dust' during the collapse and rescue/recovery effort increased the incidence of sarcoidosis or sarcoid-like granulomatous pulmonary disease."
On the basis of their study (comparing results of medical exams before the disaster with those afterward), the researchers identified 26 men who had developed lung disease as a result of their exposure to the "dust" from the collapse. Many of these also had symptoms of asthma. It was the first study of its kind describing lung disease in World Trade Center rescuers.
"These results add new insights into the etiology of sarcoid-like granulomatous pulmonary disease and sarcoidosis, and provide increased attention to disease prevention and surveillance following environmental/occupational exposures," they concluded.
So far, five of the firefighters have already qualified for permanent pulmonary disability benefits.
posted by Iloveny_marf at 7:38 PM
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