INSERM, VIMA: Aging and Chronic Diseases, Epidemiological and Public Health Approaches, U1168, F-94807, Villejuif, France.
UVSQ, UMR-S 1168, University Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, F-78180, Montigny le Bretonneux, France.
Occup Environ Med. 2018 Sep;75(9):668-674. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104793. Epub 2018 May 14.
Healthcare workers are highly exposed to various types of disinfectants and cleaning products. Assessment of exposure to these products remains a challenge. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of a method, based on a smartphone application and bar codes, to improve occupational exposure assessment among hospital/cleaning workers in epidemiological studies.
A database of disinfectants and cleaning products used in French hospitals, including their names, bar codes and composition, was developed using several sources: ProdHyBase (a database of disinfectants managed by hospital hygiene experts), and specific regulatory agencies and industrial websites. A smartphone application has been created to scan bar codes of products and fill a short questionnaire. The application was tested in a French hospital. The ease of use and the ability to record information through this new approach were estimated.
The method was tested in a French hospital (7 units, 14 participants). Through the application, 126 records (one record referred to one product entered by one participant/unit) were registered, majority of which were liquids (55.5%) or sprays (23.8%); 20.6% were used to clean surfaces and 15.9% to clean toilets. Workers used mostly products with alcohol and quaternary ammonium compounds (>90% with weekly use), followed by hypochlorite bleach and hydrogen peroxide (28.6%). For most records, information was available on the name (93.7%) and bar code (77.0%). Information on product compounds was available for all products and recorded in the database.
This innovative and easy-to-use method could help to improve the assessment of occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products in epidemiological studies.
医护人员会频繁接触各种类型的消毒剂和清洁产品。对这些产品的接触评估仍然具有挑战性。我们旨在研究一种方法的可行性，该方法基于智能手机应用程序和条形码，以改善医院/清洁工人在流行病学研究中的职业暴露评估。
使用多种来源（医院卫生专家管理的消毒剂数据库 ProdHyBase 以及特定的监管机构和工业网站）开发了一个法国医院使用的消毒剂和清洁产品数据库，包括它们的名称、条形码和成分。创建了一个智能手机应用程序来扫描产品的条形码并填写简短的问卷。该应用程序在一家法国医院进行了测试。评估了使用这种新方法的易用性和记录信息的能力。
该方法在一家法国医院（7 个单位，14 名参与者）进行了测试。通过该应用程序，共记录了 126 条记录（一条记录对应一名参与者/单位输入的一种产品），其中大部分是液体（55.5%）或喷雾剂（23.8%）；20.6%用于清洁表面，15.9%用于清洁厕所。工人们主要使用含有酒精和季铵化合物的产品（每周使用超过 90%），其次是次氯酸盐漂白剂和过氧化氢（28.6%）。对于大多数记录，都可以获得名称（93.7%）和条形码（77.0%）的信息。所有产品的化合物信息均可获得，并记录在数据库中。
这种创新且易于使用的方法可以帮助改善流行病学研究中对消毒剂/清洁产品职业暴露的评估。
