Short communication, Note
Bronchial reactivity in workers from an aluminium plant using alu-swiss technology
J. Godnić-Cvar
; Institut za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The etiology of an asthma-like syndrome in workers employed in the aluminium industry has not yet been completely clarified. Bronchial reactivity measurements were performed to assess the role of this phenomenon in the appearance of paroxysmal dyspnea. Twenty-three workers with symptoms and 27 symptom-free workers from the same plant, all males aged between 20 and 52 year, underwent a non-specific bronchoprovocation test with histamine. Histamine was given in concentrations of 0.125, 1, 4 and 8 mg/ml. The method of Cockcroft and co-workers was used. Pirick testing wars done with five common inhalant allergens. IgE level was also measured. The concentrations of hydrogen fluoride, sulphur dioxide and particulate fluoride, the pollutants of the working environment, were mainly below the maximum allowable values for Yugoslavia. The selected groups did not differ significantly either by age, smoking habit, duration of employment, basic lung function indices or by bronchial hyperreactivity - 52 % of the symptom-free, and 78 % of the workers with symptoms were found to be hyperreactive. Seven out of 27 control, and 14 out of 23 dyspnoic workers had a positive cutaneous reaction to o.ne or more tested allergens. The lgE level was normal in all the workers. A comparable number of hyperreactive workers in both groups is explained by the subjective experience of dyspnea, as well as by a possible difference in the »reactivity« slope of the dose-response curve.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
153664
URI
Publication date:
30.6.1987.
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