摘要:

The Occupational Medical Forum presents questions of general interest received by the ACOM Committee on Occupational Medical Practice. Answers usually are prepared by the Committee, representing the composite best judgment of its members. Such replies do not necessarily represent an official position of the American College of Occupational Medicine. In some cases, the responses will be prepared at the Committee's request by consultants with special qualifications in specific fields. Questioners are not named. Readers who wish to submit questions to the Committee should address inquiries to: Committee on Occupational Medical Practice, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 55 W. Seegers Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The Occupational Medical Forum presents questions of general interest received by the ACOM Committee on Occupational Medical Practice. Answers usually are prepared by the Committee, representing the composite best judgment of its members. Such replies do not necessarily represent an official position of the American College of Occupational Medicine. In some cases, the responses will be prepared at the Committee's request by consultants with special qualifications in specific fields. Questioners are not named. Readers who wish to submit questions to the Committee should address inquiries to: Committee on Occupational Medical Practice, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 55 W. Seegers Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We reviewed over 220 cases of acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and now report on 17 patients whose poisoning occurred from the indoor use of propane-fueled forklifts. All patients in this series presented with neurologic symptoms or persistent headache and were given hyperbaric oxygen to resolve their symptomatology. We investigated the concentration of CO in the exhaust emissions of 12 propane-fueled forklifts used in various workplaces in our location. The average CO concentration in the exhaust during engine idling was 36,000 parts per million (3.6%). This value decreased slightly to 30,000 ppm (3.0%) at working engine speed. Measurements of exhaust flow indicate CO production rates of approximately 60 liters per minute at working engine speed. These quantities of CO constitute a significant occupational exposure risk to workers using propane-fueled forklifts in unventilated indoor environments.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Workers with a medical diagnosis of chemical dependence were selected and compared with matched controls; we hypothesized there were significant differences in absenteeism and certain medical illnesses. Employee data were obtained from medical insurance sickness and accident reports. Illnesses were summarized into diagnostic clusters for analysis. Chemically-dependent workers had significantly more (P<.05) absenteeism, injuries, hypertension, and mental disorders than did the control group. Using these findings, employers can conduct prospective studies that select workers to be screened for chemical dependence.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Systemic sclerosis or scleroderma is an uncommon multisystem disease with a reported incidence of 2 to 12 cases per million people per year. The clinical and pathological features can be grouped into three main categories: those related to fibrosis, to vascular abnormalities, and to immunological abnormalities. Cutaneous features dominate the patients' appearance, and Raynaud's phenomenon is an early symptom. A possible association between scleroderma and workers exposed to hand-arm vibration and/or silica has been suggested by reports in the literature since the turn of the century. A further four patients with collagen disease are reported here. Three were occupationally exposed to both hand-arm vibration and silica, the fourth to hand-arm vibration alone. In conjunction with previously reported cases, this supports the hypothesis that collagen disease may be work attributable in hypersusceptible persons.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Recent federal and judicial initiatives have led to controversy over the justification of mandatory retirement policies applied to public safety occupations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been mandated to study this issue, and a critical element of that study will be to determine the types of tests to be employed as substitutes for a mandatory retirement age. In this review, a rationale is presented for the measurement of aerobic power (VO2max) as a predictor of the physical performance capability of firefighters. We conclude that task simulations rarely replicate the environmental conditions present at structural fires that stress the cardiorespiratory capability of firefighters. VO2max is an important predictor of performance effectiveness of firefighters to be used in conjunction with task-specific testing.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

A serious limitation to the diagnosis of mild organophosphate poisoning and to the preventive screening of organophosphate-exposed workers has been the large interindividual variability in erythrocyte cholinesterase. This makes it necessary to obtain a pre-exposure baseline measurement of enzyme activity as a basis for evaluating subsequent declines. To evaluate a new battery-operated colorimetric erythrocyte cholinesterase kit, 23 workers at a Mexican pesticide formulation plant were examined. All workers had normal cholinesterase, and exposed and unexposed workers were found to have similar mean cholinesterase levels. Although erythrocyte cholinesterase was found to have a coefficient of variation of 12% (similar to that reported in previous studies), hemoglobin-adjusted erythrocyte cholinesterase had a markedly reduced coefficient of variation (7.4%). The 90% confidence interval (24.9–31.7 IU/g hemoglobin) resulted in a lower normal limit that is 78% of the upper limit. Even if a pre-exposure baseline were high normal but unknown at the time of examination, the supervising clinician can be confident that any person with a normal result will be no less than 78% of baseline. The kit is moderately priced, easy to use in the field setting, and the low variability to the assay should allow improvement in diagnosis, screening, and in the epidemiologic evaluation of exposure.

ISSN:0096-1736    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1992

数据来源: OVID