Abstract Objectives In Japan, benign asbestos pleural effusion (BAPE) has been eligible for industrial accident compensation since 2003 as an asbestos‐related disease despite the lack of good criteria. We compiled a criteria into a checklist of essential items and for excluding other diseases inducing pleural effusion as a diagnosis process. Method Thoracentesis was performed in order to confirm the presence of pleural effusion at the initial diagnosis, and 105 suspected BAPE patients were retrospectively examined. We complied a checklist comprising the following diagnostic items: (a) occupational asbestos exposure; (b) confirmation of exudate of pleural effusion; (c) exclusion of pleural effusion with malignant tumors based on negative results of CEA and hyaluronic acid, and cytology of pleural effusion; (d) exclusion of rheumatic, bacterial, and tuberculous pleuritis; (d) radiological findings for exclusion of malignancies; and (e) histopathological findings based on thoracoscopy that exclude malignancies (when thoracoscopy was not performed, there was confirmation that no malignancies were present during 3‐month follow‐up observation). Cases that satisfied all items were defined as BAPE. Results Among the 105 suspected cases, there were five cases that had no occupational asbestos exposure; six cases in which transudate of on pleural effusion; one case each of rheumatoid pleuritis and tuberculous pleuritis; and five cases of pleural mesothelioma based on chest radiography and histopathological findings within 3 months after initial diagnosis. Therefore, we excluded 18 cases from the 105 candidates and determined 87 cases of BAPE. Conclusion We consider that six items described above are suitable for diagnosing BAPE.

中文翻译：

---

使用清单对良性石棉胸腔积液（BAPE）诊断过程的回顾性研究

摘要 目标在日本，尽管缺乏良好的标准，但自 2003 年以来，良性石棉胸腔积液 (BAPE) 作为一种与石棉相关的疾病一直有资格获得工业事故赔偿。我们将标准汇编成基本项目清单，并在诊断过程中排除其他引起胸腔积液的疾病。方法 进行胸腔穿刺术以确认初诊时是否存在胸腔积液，并对 105 名疑似 BAPE 患者进行回顾性检查。我们编制了一份包含以下诊断项目的清单： (a) 职业性石棉暴露；(b) 胸腔积液渗出物的确认；(c) 根据 CEA 和透明质酸的阴性结果以及胸水细胞学检查排除恶性肿瘤的胸腔积液；(d) 排除风湿性、细菌性、和结核性胸膜炎；(d) 排除恶性肿瘤的放射学发现；(e) 排除恶性肿瘤的基于胸腔镜检查的组织病理学结果（当未进行胸腔镜检查时，确认在 3 个月的随访观察中不存在恶性肿瘤）。满足所有项目的案例被定义为 BAPE。结果105例疑似病例中，5例未接触过职业石棉；胸腔积液漏出6例；类风湿性胸膜炎、结核性胸膜炎各1例；初诊后3个月内胸膜间皮瘤5例胸片及组织病理学检查结果。因此，我们从 105 名候选者中排除了 18 例，确定了 87 例 BAPE。