Occupational Medicine, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland.
Occup Med (Lond). 2011 Mar;61(2):121-6. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqq192. Epub 2011 Jan 31.
Several epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of asthma among professional cleaners. To date, however, no analysis of large patient series from clinic of occupational medicine has been published.
To describe the cases of occupational asthma (OA) diagnosed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) during the period 1994-2004 in workers employed in professional cleaning work.
OA was diagnosed according to patient history, lung function examinations and specific challenge tests with measurements of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second and peak expiratory flow values.
Our series comprised 20 patients, all female, with a mean age of 48.8 years (range 27-60 years). The mean duration of cleaning work before the onset of the respiratory symptoms was 14.3 years (range 1-36 years), and the mean duration of cleaning work before the FIOH examinations was 18.6 years (range 3-38 years). OA was triggered by chemicals in 9 cases (45%) and by moulds in 11 cases (55%). The chemicals were cleaning chemicals (wax-removing substances containing ethanolamines in five cases and a cleaning agent containing chloramine-T in one case) and chemicals used in the industrial processes at workplaces (three cases). Of the moulds, the most frequently associated with OA was Aspergillus fumigatus (nine cases).
OA was attributed not only to cleaning chemicals but also to other chemicals used in work environments. Moulds are presented as a new cause of OA in cleaners.
几项流行病学研究报告称，职业清洁工患哮喘的风险增加。然而，迄今为止，尚未发表来自职业医学诊所的大型患者系列分析。
描述芬兰职业健康研究所（FIOH）在 1994 年至 2004 年期间诊断的从事专业清洁工作的工人职业性哮喘（OA）病例。
根据患者病史、肺功能检查和特异性激发试验，使用第 1 秒用力呼气量和呼气峰流量值进行测量，诊断 OA。
我们的系列包括 20 名女性患者，平均年龄为 48.8 岁（范围为 27-60 岁）。呼吸道症状出现前清洁工作的平均持续时间为 14.3 年（范围为 1-36 年），FIOH 检查前清洁工作的平均持续时间为 18.6 年（范围为 3-38 年）。OA 由 9 例（45%）中的化学物质和 11 例（55%）中的霉菌引起。化学物质为清洁化学品（含有乙醇胺的除蜡剂 5 例和含氯胺-T 的清洁剂 1 例）和工作场所工业过程中使用的化学品（3 例）。与 OA 最常相关的霉菌是烟曲霉（9 例）。
OA 不仅归因于清洁化学品，还归因于工作环境中使用的其他化学品。霉菌被认为是清洁工人 OA 的新病因。
