Caplan Syndrome

Caplan Syndrome

The caplan syndrome has been named so after Doctor Anthony                Caplan, who identified this disease and explores and details the same in many of his published articles. The caplan syndrome, also known as the caplan’s disease is rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and pneumoconiosis, combined together. This disease also causes the inflammation and scarring of the lungs.

Sometimes the scarring of the lungs may be so severe that it would make it difficult for the lungs to carry oxygen to the bloodstream. The inflammation of the lungs can further lead to the development of small lumps or nodules. These intrapulmonary nodules appear homogenous and well-defined on chest X-rays.  Some of the signs and symptoms of the caplan syndrome are cough and the shortness of the breath combined with rheumatoid arthritis such as painful joints and morning stiffness. Patients with the caplan syndrome exhibit tender and swollen MCP joints.

An auscultation of the chest may reveal diffuse râles that usually do not appear and show on coughing or by taking a deep breath during examination. People working in mines often expose themselves to mining dusts such as coal, asbestos and silica, and thus are more susceptible to the caplan syndrome. Thus such workers inhale a lot of mining dust containing coal in particular. This may make them highly vulnerable to this disease. Smoking is another aggravating factor that causes the caplan syndrome. It has been observed that one in every 100000 people have the caplan syndrome; however this figure may reduce with the reduction in the coal mining industry. Thus with the disappearance of coal mines and the workers employed in the same, the disease may also show a gradual decrease in growth. It is good to note that this caplan syndrome was originally identified in coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis.

The nodules might have appeared in the patient several years prior to the appearance of rheumatoid arthritis, thus by the time the disease is identified, the nodules may have achieved considerable growth in the patient’s body. Diagnosis of this disease may reveal the presence of Rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, and non-organ specific antibodies in the serum of such patients.