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Start free with EleplanChronic beryllium disease
ORPHA:133Disease
Also called Berylliosis · Chronic berylliosis · Chronic beryllium lung disease
What it is
A pneumoconiosis, characterized by granulomatous inflammation, that occurs in individuals who develop beryllium sensitization (BeS), a cell-mediated immune response to environmental and occupational beryllium exposure. BeS precedes the lung disease that may present with chronic dry cough, fatigue, weight loss, chest pain, and increasing dyspnea.
Key facts
- Age of onset
- Adult
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Signs and symptoms
Very common80–99%
3Common30–79%
13- Abnormality on pulmonary function testing
- Abnormal proportion of CD4 T cells
- Abnormal tracheobronchial morphology
- Cough
- Dyspnea
- Fatigue
- Ground-glass opacification on pulmonary HRCT
- Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia
- Pharyngitis
- Reduced FEV1/FVC ratio
- Respiratory insufficiency
- Reticulonodular pattern on pulmonary HRCT
- Weight loss
These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
Gene
ICD-10 codes
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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