Asbestosis Treatment Options

How Is Asbestosis Treated?

Treatments focus on a patient’s ability to breathe without distress. Asbestosis is caused by an inhalation of asbestos fibers and is a lung disease that, over time, creates labored and painful breathing. Lung tissues that are scarred from embedded fibers impede the natural breathing process.

Doctors often prescribe inhalers and medications like bronchodilators, aspirin and antibiotics to help those diagnosed with asbestosis. In some patients, treatments such as a humidifier, oxygen therapy, chest percussion or postural drainage may also be recommended to relieve symptoms of chest congestion, tightness and difficulty breathing. If a patient’s symptoms are so severe that medications don’t work, a doctor may recommend surgery to remove scar tissue.

Medications

Doctors may recommend a number of medications to help with breathing and the discomfort that comes with asbestosis. Common medications include over-the-counter cough drops and cough syrups. Those can be supplanted, if needed, with prescription-strength products.

Common medications for asbestosis treatment include:

Corticosteroids (anti-inflammatory medication) and immunosuppressants, which are typically prescribed when treating lung diseases, are largely ineffective in the treatment of asbestosis symptoms. Asbestosis is a disease which is more about the scarring, rather than the inflammation that it produces. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressants reduce inflammation.

Surgery

In certain circumstances, surgery may be recommended for asbestosis. In rare cases, a doctor may recommend a lung transplant.

The goal of asbestosis surgeries is to relieve symptoms and provide pain relief. One likely surgical procedure is a thoracentesis, which drains excess fluid from the lungs, releasing the pressure in the lungs and making it easier to breathe. (Pleural effusion, which refers to excess fluid in the lungs, is a common symptom of asbestosis.)

Diagnostic Surgery

Doctors typically diagnose asbestosis with X-rays and CT scans, but there are times when a doctor may order a biopsy to rule out mesothelioma or another lung tumor. This is likely to happen when a patient’s X-ray shows a lesion or nodule that may be cancerous. If the doctor is not able to determine whether the lesion is cancerous from the films alone, they may choose to perform a biopsy to obtain a sample of the tumor for testing.

Doctors may also perform a biopsy in patients with asbestosis who have a higher risk of also developing lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Thoracentesis as a Palliative Treatment

While thoracentesis can help a doctor diagnose the presence of lung cancer or mesothelioma, the procedure may also have a palliative use in the treatment of asbestosis. Sometimes asbestosis can cause or be accompanied by pleural effusion (the collection of fluid between the chest wall and the lungs). This excess fluid compresses the lungs and makes it difficult and painful to breathe. Removing the fluid can relieve chest pain and allow the lungs to work more efficiently.

Thoracentesis is usually an outpatient treatment and is the most common and least invasive way of withdrawing this buildup of fluid.

Lung Transplant

In the most severe cases, a doctor may decide that a lung transplant is warranted. Lung transplantation is the removal of one or both lungs that are then replaced with a lung harvested from a deceased donor.

Lung transplants are most often considered when the asbestosis is accompanied by more severe lung diseases such as emphysema or lung cancer. The transplant process is a long and involved one that may make it unsuitable for many asbestosis patients. In order to be considered for a lung transplant, a patient will have to undergo extensive tests and screening to determine the relative chances of a successful transplant. It is a last-resort treatment.

Alternative Treatments

Some patients also find relief through alternative medical treatments such as acupuncture, massage therapy, and homeopathic medicine. While none of these treatments offers a cure for asbestosis, many of them do offer relief from pain, reduction of inflammation, and an increase in pulmonary function.