Liver disease in vineyard sprayers

Abstract

Liver disease with inclusions of copper was recognized among 30 rural workers with "vineyard sprayer's lung." The pathological findings were varied: focal or diffuse swelling and proliferation of Kupffer cells; histiocytic and sarcoid-like granulomata; fibrosis of variable degree in the perisinusoidal, portal, and subcapsular areas, accompanied by atypical proliferation of the sinusoidal lining cells; micronodular cirrhosis; angiosarcoma of the liver; idiopathic portal hypertension. Abundant deposits of copper were revealed by histochemical techniques within hepatic and pulmonary lesions in these patients. The observations on the human and experimental material suggest an etiological relationship between exposure to copper sulfate and the lesions described. A morphological resemblance was noted between the "liver disease of vineyard sprayers" and the hepatic lesions reported in workers exposed to inorganic arsenic and to vinyl chloride. The identification of the inhaled foreign material within the liver lesions raises important etiological considerations.