It is extremely uncommon in North America. Patients with the chronic form complain of insidious and progressive exertional dyspnea, cough, chest pain, weight loss, and fatigue. Symptoms may not develop until 20 yr after exposure has ceased. The chest x-ray shows diffuse infiltrations, often with hilar adenopathy, resembling the pattern seen in sarcoidosis. A miliary pattern also occurs.
Diagnosis depends on a history of exposure and the appropriate clinical manifestations.
However, unless special immunologic techniques are used, distinguishing berylliosis from sarcoidosis is often impossible. The acute form can be fatal, but persons who survive have an excellent prognosis. The clinical manifestations in survivors are usually short-lived and completely reversible. The chronic form often results in progressive loss of respiratory function. Right heart strain usually results, with death from cor pulmonale.