Clinical trials among worker populations: a model for an anamnestic survey of upper limb pathologies and its practical application methods.

Following a brief review of the principal clinical characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limbs, the authors propose a protocol for a structured anamnestic examination featuring a series of set questions. The anamnestic model is based on a detailed listing of the symptoms to be analysed, which are divided into four categories: pain, paraesthesia, symptoms attributable to hyposthenia, and neurovegetative disorders. Regarding pain and paraesthesia, the authors list the localization, pattern of onset, duration and number of episodes, irradiation and treatment. The patients can thus be classified as anamnestic cases based on the following criteria: presence of pain or paraesthesia during the last 12 months, with episodes lasting for at least 1 week or occurring at least once a month, with no previous acute trauma. For hyposthenia, the authors report on the conditions under which the disorder may develop. The neurovegetative disorders considered are modifications in colour of the fingers and reaction to exposure to low temperatures. The structure of the proposed anamnestic chart permits all findings to be easily encoded for subsequent storage in a dedicated database. The appendix contains an annotated facsimile of the anamnestic chart.