ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of a patient’s occupational lung disease is predicated on an understanding of his or her occupation and exposures. Although some patients with occupationally induced airways disease present with a complaint of dyspnea, cough, or chest tightness that clearly develops only while they are at work, others are less aware of the connection with their employment. It is the practitioner’s responsibility to identify potential job-related expo sures and to connect these exposures with the patient’s complaints. Often a detailed history taken by the physician is sufficient; sometimes an investigation by an industrial hygienist is necessary to identify the occupational risk factors.
