Although rare, rheumatoid pneumoconiosis, also known as Caplan's syndrome, can occur in workers exposed to silica, as well as in patients with silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis or asbestosis. Prevalence is higher among patients with silicosis, despite the fact that it was originally described in coal workers with pneumoconiosis. The classical finding that defines this syndrome is that of rheumatoid nodules in the lungs, regardless of whether there are small rounded opacities suggestive of pneumoconiosis or large opacities consistent with massive pulmonary fibrosis, with or without clinical rheumatoid arthritis. We describe the case of a female patient with rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed 34 years after 7 years of occupational exposure to silica at a porcelain plant. A chest X-ray showed circular opacities of 1-5 cm in diameter, bilaterally distributed at the periphery of the lungs. A CT-guided thoracic punch biopsy of one of those nodules revealed that it was rheumatoid nodule surrounded by a palisade of macrophages, which is typical of Caplan's syndrome. Aspects of diagnosis, classification and occurrence of this syndrome are discussed, emphasizing the importance of the occupational anamnesis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lung opacities on chest X-rays.
Pneumoconiosis; Arthritis, rheumatoid; Caplan's syndrome; Silicosis
