ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Methanol has been proposed as an alternative automotive fuel to reduce pollution in the urban environment. Utilization of methanol will increase exposure to low levels of methanol vapors for the general public and in occupational settings. Information on absorption by inhalation and serum concentrations after low-level exposure would be important in evaluating the health impact of generalized methanol exposure. During a randomized double-blind study of the potential neurobehavioral effects of inhaled methanol at 200 ppm for 4 hours, 15 timed specimens from 22 subjects were obtained for methanol analysis by head-space gas chromatography. Methanol was rapidly absorbed by inhalation (absorption rate constant = 0.87 ± 0.60 hours-1). Serum methanol concentrations were increased by more than fourfold at the end of the exposure period (6.5 ± 2.7 vs 0.9 ± 0.6 mg/L), as were urinary methanol excretion rates, although formate concentrations were not increased over background concentrations. The overall (n= 22) elimination half-life was 3.2 ± 2.3 hours. Elimination from plasma fit a monoexponential model for only half of the subjects during the 4-hour postexposure follow-up period (mean half-life = 2.2 hours). Subjects with poor fits either showed greater variability or apparent slow (nonsignificant) declines in serum methanol concentrations, possibly because of the offsetting contributions of dietary intake or endogenous production, but more likely as a result of the limited number of sampling times and limited follow-up period.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Medical causation analysis determines whether or not a specific patient's illness is the result of a work site or an environmental exposure. In the past, this has been conducted implicitly with little analysis of the process per se. Our review suggests that there are several distinct heuristics that may be utilized; these include probability-based models, application of group-based data (epidemiology) to individuals, Bayesian analysis, a priori assumptions about which conclusions are better, and others. Some methods consider only work causes, whereas others explicitly consider alternative explanations. There are considerable differences among the methods in process, outcome, and fundamental assumptions. Formal assessment of the medical causation analysis process can provide insight and may ultimately lead to its standardization and improvement.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Over 2000 electrocution deaths were identified among U.S. construction workers from 1980 to 1991, with the highest mean annual crude mortality rate (2.5 per 100,000 people), and second highest mean age-adjusted rate (2.7 per 100,000 people) of all industries. Although the crude fatality rates showed a downward trend, construction workers are still about four times more likely to be electrocuted at work than are workers in all industries combined. Nearly 40% of the 5083 fatal electrocutions in all industries combined occurred in construction, and 80% were associated with industrial wiring, appliances, and transmission lines. Electrocutions ranked as the second leading cause of death among construction workers, accounting for an average of 15% of traumatic deaths in the industry from 1980 to 1991. The study indicates that the workers most at risk of electrical injury are male, young, nonwhite, and electricians, structural metal workers, and laborers. The most likely time of injury is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June to August. Focusing prevention on these populations and characteristics through better methods of worker and supervisor electrical safety training, use of adequate protective clothing, and compliance with established procedures could minimize the average annual loss of 168 U.S. construction workers.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The effectiveness of using vibrotactile threshold measures to aid in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was evaluated. Thresholds for detecting 1-, 10-, and 300-Hz vibratory stimuli were measured on the fingertips of 24 CTS patients and 20 healthy control subjects. There were no significant differences in threshold for 1- and 300-Hz between the two groups. Although there were significant differences for 10-Hz stimuli, the mean patient threshold was within 1 standard deviation of the mean threshold for the control group. These results indicate that threshold testing is not a suitable diagnostic tool for CTS. Additionally, we examined whether thresholds were elevated in the presence of pain. Seven patients reported experiences of pain and no pain sessions. No significant differences in threshold were found between the two pain conditions, indicating that the presence of pain related to CTS does not affect threshold.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The role of smoking and an urban living environment in the etiology of radiographic pleural and pulmonary abnormalities was studied in a population sample that was representative of the Finnish adult population. A total of 7095 full-size chest radiographs were classified according to the International Labor Organization's 1980 classification of radiographs of pneumoconioses, with some modifications. The risk of bilateral pleural plaques was significantly higher among urban men (RR, 2.0) and women (RR, 3.8), even when adjusted for age and probability of occupational asbestos exposure and smoking. The risks of small lung opacities and abnormalities of the visceral pleura were not higher in urban areas. Risks of small lung opacities and thickening of the visceral pleura were positively associated with smoking, and the risk of small lung opacities was also higher among smokers than never-smokers in the population fraction with unlikely occupational asbestos exposure.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Three cases of respiratory disease in workers with occupational exposure to talc containing asbestos fibers are reported. Standard chest roentgenographs, high-resolution computed tomography, respiratory function tests, morphologic study of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL), light microscopic examination, and mineralogical analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of BAL was performed. All subjects showed bilateral pleural plaques, and in two subjects the study of BAL revealed lymphocytic alveolitis with an increased T4/T8 ratio. Mineralogical analysis of BAL detected asbestos-fiber concentrations of 510, 2039, and 3392 fibers/mL and many asbestos bodies. In one patient, mineralogical analysis of lung tissue was also performed; a concentration of 3,659,000 fibers/g dry tissue was found. Simultaneously, we performed a mineralogical study of 12 commercial talc samples, including those used by the patients during the last phase of their working lives. TEM revealed asbestos fibers in five samples. Two subjects used two of these talc powders. The study presented here confirms the need to perform all relevant clinical tests together with the study of BAL and mineralogical analysis of the materials to which the patients are or were exposed to determine occupational exposure to fibers, including those associated with talc, which are often misidentified.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID