Respiratory Manifestations in Workers Occupationally Exposed to Organic

摘要

Organic solvents (OS) are chemicals used in variety of industries. Hazardous effect of OS on respiratory system is a known risk in occupationally exposed workers. The study aimed at determination of the impact of exposure to OS on respiratory system and pulmonary function tests in two different occupations. The studied population consisted of three groups; the first group is paint manufacturers in one of the largest factories in greater Cairo. The second is a group of pharmacists working in research center laboratories and handling solvents nearly similar to those used by the first group. The third is the control group who are engaged mainly in administrative tasks. All subjects had undergone history taking stressing on lower respiratory symptoms. Full medical examination of the respiratory system was carried out for the three groups. Pulmonary function testing (PFT) included measurement of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and forced expiratory flow (FEF 25-75%) as a percentage of the predicted value were also performed. Hydrocarbon exposure score (HES score) was calculated of for each worker to be used for further assessment of intensity of exposure to OS. Results revealed increased prevalence of respiratory manifestations among the exposed groups. All pulmonary function tests were significantly lowered among paint workers and researchers in comparison with the control group, moreover, the mean values for paint workers were lower than those for researchers. Upon division of exposed workers according to the duration of work into three groups (20 years), progressive decrease of mean values of PFT was observed throughout the three groups. Furthermore, we classified exposed subjects according to HES score into high exposure group (HEG) and low exposure group (LEG). The prevalence of respiratory manifestations was higher in HEG than in LEG. HEG values were lower in all parameters of PFT than LEG. A significant negative correlation was found between lung function parameters and age, duration of exposure and HES score of exposed subjects. This emphasizes the negative impact of the length of solvent exposure on respiratory health and pulmonary functions.