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A potential cause of asbestos-related granulomatosis due to adulterant contamination in a drug abuser

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Abstract

Drug adulterants containing contaminants have been known to cause lung disease by inhalation or intravenous intake. Talcosis due to intravenous talc injection has been widely described in the literature, whereas the hypothesis of granulomatosis due to asbestos related to adulterated cocaine injection has not yet been explored. Herein, a case of pulmonary granulomatosis due to asbestos fibres related to cocaine injection in a young woman is described. Inorganic material in the lung was first individuated by light microscopy and last was identified using the SEM-EDX method. This case is unique since the occupational and passive inhalation of asbestos was excluded with absolute certainty.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Care Surveillance and Bioetics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

    Maria Concetta Lazzaro, Sabrina Romanò, Cristian Camuto & Fabio De-Giorgio

  2. Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L. go F. Vito 1, 00168, Rome, Italy

    Maria Concetta Lazzaro, Sabrina Romanò, Cristian Camuto, Arnaldo Carbone & Fabio De-Giorgio

  3. Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche di Roma, Rome, Italy

    Sabrina Romanò, Rosario Casamassima & Sergio Abate

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy

    Sergio Santoro

  5. Area of Pathology, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Section of Morbid Pathology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

    Arnaldo Carbone

Authors
  1. Maria Concetta Lazzaro
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  2. Sabrina Romanò
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  3. Sergio Santoro
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  4. Cristian Camuto
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  5. Arnaldo Carbone
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  6. Rosario Casamassima
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  7. Sergio Abate
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  8. Fabio De-Giorgio
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Maria Concetta Lazzaro, Sabrina Romanò, Sergio Santoro, Cristian Camuto, Arnaldo Carbone, Rosario Casamassima, Sergio Abate, Fabio De-Giorgio. M.C. Lazzaro and F. De-Giorgio performed the autopsy, A. Carbone performed the histological exams, S. Romanò, S. Santoro, C. Camuto, R. Casamassima, S. Abate analysed samples with an FE-SEM Zeiss Sigma 300. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Maria Concetta Lazzaro and Fabio De-Giorgio; all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fabio De-Giorgio.

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Lazzaro, M.C., Romanò, S., Santoro, S. et al. A potential cause of asbestos-related granulomatosis due to adulterant contamination in a drug abuser. Virchows Arch 478, 361–366 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-020-02863-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-020-02863-z

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