Blood gas analysis as a determinant of occupationally related disability
Article Abstract:
One of the factors used to determine disability for coal worker's pneumoconiosis, or 'black lung' is hypoxemia (deficiency of oxygen in arterial blood). Pneumoconiosis is a lung disease caused by chronic inhalation of dust, usually mineral dusts. Blood gas analysis, which determines the acid/alkaline balance of the blood, as well as concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, is often considered a reliable means of evaluating lung impairment. It has been suggested that blood gas analysis is more sensitive than spirometry (laboratory measurement of the air capacity of the lungs) in determining lung disability in miners. Also, this blood study is considered more objective, because it does not depend on the cooperation of the patient. A study was made of the records of 40 miners and former miners who had filed for compensation on the basis of pneumoconiosis. All patients had undergone multiple blood gas studies, as well as spirometry testing. There were marked variations over time in the blood gas determinations of many patients. Some values improved, some deteriorated. The condition does not improve over time, so there is no reason to believe that improving values indicated a change in the disease status. Twenty-two patients were shown to have hypoxemia. Review of the medical record revealed additional diagnoses including, obesity, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, chronic airflow limitation, coronary bypass surgery and prior stroke. There was only one non-smoker in the hypoxic group. It is concluded that blood gas analysis is unreliable in determining disability. This test does not determine the specific cause of the hypoxemia, which can be due to various unrelated causes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Evaluation of flu-like symptoms in workers handling xanthan gum powder
Article Abstract:
Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide (starch) used in the food industry to stabilize and thicken food products. It is also utilized in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and in oil drilling as a lubricant. There has been little or no research concerning possible health risks to workers handling xanthan gum, possibly because it is nontoxic if ingested, and has been found to be non-irritating to the skin and eyes. Yet over the past 20 years, which is the length of time xanthan gum has been in production, there have occasionally been incidents in which employees handling xanthan gum have developed flu-like symptoms. The physical effects reported have included chest tightness or heaviness and sometimes a cough, along with a flu-like reaction. The most severe case recorded was that of an individual who developed fever, chills, aches, chest tightness, nausea and vomiting, increased pulse and high white blood cell count; this worker appeared to have hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammatory lung disease caused by inhalation of organic dusts. This study was conducted to evaluate the association between handling xanthan gum powder and the development of flu-like symptoms and/or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The 81 employees were divided into five groups according to amount of exposure to xanthan gum. The most common symptom was nose and throat irritation, which was most frequent in the group with the highest exposure. The researchers did not find any evidence that workers with the longest or highest level of exposure suffered any chronic reduction in lung function. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Benefit-cost analysis of Hepatitis B vaccine programs for occupationally exposed workers
Article Abstract:
Hepatitis B (HBV) is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It is spread primarily by sexual contact or exposure to infected blood. It affects 18,000 health care workers each year, killing 200 to 300 of them. Twenty-five percent of those infected become chronic carriers of the disease. The disease can be prevented by a vaccination prior to exposure or immediate treatment after exposure. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed that all health care workers who come into contact with blood regularly should be vaccinated. They estimate this will reduce a large number of HBV infections each year. This study examined the costs of such a program versus its benefits. The Study included costs to protect all workers exposed to blood, regardless of how often they came into contact with blood. The cost of the program was estimated to be $60.4 million dollars a year. Benefits of the program were estimated using two methods. When only savings of medical costs and lost productivity caused by infection were considered, it was estimated that the program would save $124 million a year. When other factors such as pain and suffering were also figured in, savings increased to an estimated $679 million a year. These results show that however benefits are estimated, the OSHA plan to prevent HBV infection in health workers would be cost-effective. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1991
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: How to apply microcomputers to occupational safety and health. T.C. "Chuck" Gilchrest named 25th Council president; at the 71st National Safety Congress
- Abstracts: Role of medical screening in the prevention of occupational disease. Suing the doctor: lawsuits by injured workers against the occupational physician
- Abstracts: Role of medical screening in the prevention of occupational disease. part 2 Interpretation and communication of the results of medical field investigations
- Abstracts: Oral rehydration in acute infantile diarrhea. Use of a somatostatin analogue, octreotide acetate, in the management of acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease
- Abstracts: Malaria in travelers in Rhode Island: a review of 26 cases. Prevention of irradiation-induced bowel discomfort by sucralfate: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study when treated localized pelvic cancer