The Journal of the Society of Occupational Medicine最新文献

Corrosive lung injuries caused by exposure to sodium hydroxide have seldom been described. A formerly healthy 25-year-old developed irreversible obstructive lung injury after working for one day with a caustic soda treatment of wood in a poorly ventilated room.

A questionnaire survey of 1800 clinical health care staff was undertaken to determine hazardous injury rates and uptake of hepatitis B vaccination. The overall sharps injury rate was 116 injuries per 100 staff per year. Full-time doctors had the highest rates. Surgical procedures were the commonest cause of accidental injury (58 per cent) and 30 per cent of all sharps injuries were attributable to careless handling. Injuries caused by bites and scratches from patients occurred mainly in nurses and auxilliaries in psychiatric and geriatric wards (115/100 staff per year). Twenty-four per cent of respondents had received a full course of hepatitis B vaccine and 51 per cent of the remainder were planning to have, or were in the process of receiving, a course. The most frequent reason given for not being vaccinated was lack of information about vaccination. This survey reveals injury rates higher than those observed in previous reports, particularly in doctors, and shows a need for more information and advice about hepatitis B infection and vaccination to be targeted to health care workers at risk.

Considerable public concern exists about the effects of exposure to asbestos both at the workplace and in the general environment. In addition, the recording of mesothelioma in health registers is questionable both in terms of accuracy and completeness. This paper compares nine different sources of data for mesothelioma in an attempt to establish the true incidence of the disease in the geographical area of the Greater Glasgow Health Board between 1981 and 1984. Although 113 cases were identified, no single source identified more than 86 per cent of this total, thus presenting a case for a special mesothelioma register. A questionnaire-based study of the occupational exposures and residential histories of the cases was also carried out. It confirmed the findings of similar studies in that mesothelioma occurs predominantly in those exposed by reason of their occupation. No relationship with place of residence was apparent independent of occupation.

I have examined sickness absence due to skin disorders at five collieries in the North East of England between 1978 and 1984, through sickness certificates kept for each man. A mean of 36.7 days per 100 men per year were lost through skin disease, with 2.3 men per 100 absent each year, of whom 36 per cent had bacterial infection of the skin, 25 per cent dermatitis, and 11 per cent epidermophytosis. However, dermatitis was the cause of the most days lost, with 2.9 days lost per man per year, compared with 1.5 for bacterial infection and 1.7 for epidermophytosis. Dermatitis was responsible for longer spells of absence (median 10 days) and recurrent long absences, which were rarely found for bacterial infection. Foot dermatitis was the most troublesome presentation in this industry, with a median duration of absence of 14 days; 25 per cent of men this diagnosis had recurrent absences of which 21 per cent lasted over 6 weeks. The number of spells of absence due to skin disorders fell, from 3.2 per 100 per year in 1978 to 2.2 per 100 in 1983.

Predicting the research needs within the engineering industry over the next 10 years requires a clear view of the industry's priorities and the role of the Occupational Health Practitioner in a rapidly changing and demanding world. This article describes the possible impact of manufacturing and social trends on occupational health practice and proposes priorities which favour operational requirements over fundamental scientific need.