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XLV - Pleural and/or pericardial involvement

The 'folded lung' (Blesovsky syndrome)

Last update 17/06/2026

A lesion of the pleura and of the confines of the lung, which consists of a thickened pleura beneath which there is an area of folded, round- or comet-shaped atelectatic lung. Asbestos is a classic and common cause for it. Ergots are the exemplar family of drugs that may cause it. See also under XVIap

Causative drugs

Frequency - Incidence

Incidence of respiratory adverse event(s) due to the specific drug as assessed by number of reported/published cases in the literature. Red digits in stars indicate: 0 = Very rare, questionable signal · 1 = < 10 cases · 2 = 10-50 cases · 3 = 50–100 cases · 4 = 100-200 cases · 5 = >200 cases

Ergotamine

Ergots, ergot alkaloids, ergolines