Center for Environmental Health, Section of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA.
Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2012 Dec;12(6):650-5. doi: 10.1007/s11882-012-0297-9.
Environmental assessment and exposure reduction are a set of diagnostic and treatment techniques that work in tandem with the traditional medical approach by reducing a patient's exposure to adverse environmental conditions as part of medical care. Assessment involves identifying the specific exposures to which a patient is sensitive and locating the corresponding contaminants in the patient's environment. This provides a more complete diagnostic evaluation of a patient's problem than could be obtained merely by examining the patient alone. Exposure reduction involves reducing the identified triggers to levels that are below thresholds that are associated with increased risk of sensitization and disease morbidity. Assessment of an environment for contaminants focuses on a chain of factors that include contaminant sources such as cockroaches, rodents, dust mites and fungi that excrete contaminants into an environment, facilitative factors such as moisture, food, water and shelter that help sources to thrive, and reservoirs where contaminants can accumulate prior to subsequent transport to occupants. By using this model to guide environmental assessments and their corresponding interventions, the root cause of health problems can be addressed, leading to improved quality of life for patients and reduced need for chronic medications.
环境评估和暴露减少是一组诊断和治疗技术，与传统医学方法相结合，通过减少患者接触不良环境条件来进行医疗护理。评估包括确定患者敏感的特定暴露，并在患者环境中找到相应的污染物。这比仅仅检查患者本身提供了更全面的患者问题诊断评估。暴露减少包括将确定的触发因素降低到与致敏和疾病发病率增加相关的阈值以下。对环境中的污染物进行评估的重点是一系列因素，包括蟑螂、啮齿动物、尘螨和真菌等污染物来源，这些来源会将污染物排放到环境中，促进因素如湿度、食物、水和住所，这些因素有助于来源的滋生，以及污染物在随后运送到居住者之前可以积累的储层。通过使用这种模型来指导环境评估及其相应的干预措施，可以解决健康问题的根本原因，从而提高患者的生活质量并减少对慢性药物的需求。
