Outcome of occupational asthma due to platinum salts after transferral to low-exposure areas

Autor: Rolf Merget, Ernst-Dietrich Berndt, Anja Gebler, Gerhard Schultze-Werninghaus, Andrea Schulte, Rolf Breitstadt, Rupprecht Kulzer, Xaver Baur
Rok vydání: 1999
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 72:33-39
ISSN: 1432-1246
0340-0131
DOI: 10.1007/s004200050331
Popis: Objective: To assess the health effects of transferral to low-exposure jobs on subjects with occupational asthma (OA). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of 83 workers in 2 platinum (Pt) refineries and 2 catalyst production plants, all with diagnosed OA due to Pt salts. In all, 9 workers (group A; 11%) continued to be exposed at the time of examination, 16 subjects (group B; 19%) had been transferred to other workplaces within the production building, 39 subjects (group C; 47%) had been transferred to areas outside the building but inside the plant, and 19 subjects (group D; 23%) had left the plant. The median period from transferral to examination was 54 months (lower quartile 23 months, upper quartile 84 months, n = 74). Symptoms, skin-prick tests (SPT) with environmental allergens and Pt salt, total serum IgE, lung function, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness were assessed by standard procedures. Results: Asthma symptoms were reported by all subjects in the production area but by only 37 of 74 subjects (50%) after transferral, with no difference being found between groups B, C, and D. Both the proportion of subjects sensitized to Pt salts (100%, 88%, 67%, and 42% in groups A, B, C, and D, respectively) and the degree of sensitization were associated with exposure (P
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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