| Is there a need for special preventive medical check-ups in employees exposed to experimental animal dust? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 18566826 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: Due to new legal requirements in Germany, the employer must request preventive medical check-ups for activities involving exposure to dust from experimental animals in the rooms in which the animals are kept. The objective is to report our first experiences with these medical check-ups in the context of academic research. METHODS: The check-ups were carried out since November 2005 and comprised a questionnaire and a medical examination, including a pulmonary function test with whole-body plethysmography. Respiratory, nasal and ocular symptoms related to occupational exposure to animals were documented. Participation in skin prick tests (ubiquitous inhalation allergens and laboratory animal allergens), a bronchial provocation test with methacholine, and serological examinations for total IgE and specific IgE antibodies was voluntary. RESULTS: Data on 132 persons are presented. One hundred and six of these had already been exposed for at least 1 year. Main complaints at the workplace were sneezing and runny nose. Ocular symptoms and bronchial asthma were reported infrequently. The development of at least one of these symptoms occurred in 34% of employees with an exposure of at least 1 year. If the weekly exposure duration was at least 5 h, the proportion of employees with complaints rose to 44.9%. In employees occupationally exposed to mice and rats, work-related complaints occurred in 33.7 and 37.8%, respectively, and sensitisation rates were 12.7 and 16.3%, respectively. Employees with and without complaints differed in history of allergic symptoms, and workplace safety measures. CONCLUSIONS: In employees with occupational contact with laboratory animal dust, the frequency of complaints was high. The results confirm the necessity of regular medical check-ups for employees with contact with laboratory animal dust. Nevertheless, the medical check-ups must be part of a prevention strategy including education, engineering controls, administrative controls, use of personal protective equipment and vocational integration. |
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Authors:
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Klaus Schmid; Barbara Jüngert; Meta Hager; Hans Drexler |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2008-06-20 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: International archives of occupational and environmental health Volume: 82 ISSN: 1432-1246 ISO Abbreviation: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Publication Date: 2009 Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-01-20 Completed Date: 2009-05-05 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7512134 Medline TA: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Country: Germany |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 319-27 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany. klaus.schmid@rzmail.uni-erlangen.de |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Allergens / immunology* Animals Animals, Laboratory / immunology* Bronchial Provocation Tests Dust / immunology* Female Germany Humans Male Mass Screening* Methacholine Chloride / diagnostic use Mice Occupational Diseases / diagnosis, physiopathology, prevention & control* Preventive Medicine Questionnaires Rats Respiratory Hypersensitivity / diagnosis, physiopathology, prevention & control* Skin Tests |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Allergens; 0/Dust; 62-51-1/Methacholine Chloride |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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