Table 1.
Demographic data for the present and literature cases
| Characteristics | Present cases | Literature data * | |
|---|---|---|---|
| At start of steroid therapy | At the diagnosis | At the diagnosis | |
| Subjects n (range) | 31 | 29 # | 223 |
| Age, median yrs | 66 (9-82) | 64 (9-82) | 50 (9-89) |
| Gender n (%) | |||
| Males | 17 (55) | 16 (55) | 151 (68) |
| Females | 14 (45) | 13 (45) | 72 (32) |
| Clinical symptoms n (%) | |||
| Asymptomatic | 9 (29) | 5 (17) | 70 (32) |
| Symptomatic | 22 (71) | 24 (83) | 150 (68) |
| Dyspnea | 12 (39) | 21 (72) | 119 (79) |
| Cough | 14 (45) | 12 (41) | 51 (34) |
| Sputum | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 8 (5) |
| Other | 4 (13) | 4 (14) | 9 (6) |
| Smoking habits n (%) | |||
| Never-smoker | 16 (52) | 15 (52) | 93 (43) |
| Current or ex-smoker | 15 (48) | 14 (48) | 124 (57) |
| Dust exposure n (%) | |||
| Yes | 8 (26) | 7 (24) | 52 (26) |
| No | 23 (74) | 22 (76) | 147 (74) |
| Complications n (%) | |||
| None | 5 (16) | 5 (17) | 137 (65) |
| Hypertension | 11 (35) | 11 (38) | 18 (9) |
| Infection | 0 (0) | 5 (17) | 12 (6) |
| Hyperlipidemia | 7 (22) | 7 (24) | 9 (4) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 5 (16) | 8 (28) | 8 (4) |
| Autoimmune disorders | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (1) |
| Pulmonary fibrosis | 2 (6) | 1 (3) | 3 (1) |
*Inoue et al. [8]
#Two cases were excluded from enrolled 31 cases, because steroid therapy were started after diagnosis