Occupational medicine
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Occupational medicine · Sep 2003
Personal and occupational predictors of sciatica in the GAZEL cohort.
The objectives of this prospective study were to investigate personal and occupational predictors of sciatica and to compare the risk factors for sciatica and those for low back pain without sciatica. ⋯ This study confirmed that height and driving are risk factors for sciatica and that sciatica has specific predictors different from those for other types of low back pain. Future studies should consider sciatica separately from these.
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Recent research shows increasing rates of occupational stress and stress-related disorders. ⋯ Self-reported overtime and sick leave appear to be associated with higher level of self-reported stress, regardless of age, gender or work duty.
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Occupational medicine · Aug 2003
ReviewHypothenar hammer syndrome: a discrete syndrome to be distinguished from hand-arm vibration syndrome.
Hypothenar hammer syndrome (HHS) is a cause of vascular insufficiency to the hand and may be manifest as Raynaud's phenomenon. The cause is trauma to the vulnerable portion of the ulnar artery as it passes over the hamate bone, which may result in thrombosis, irregularity or aneurysm formation. ⋯ Colour and temperature changes occur more diffusely in HHS than in classical Raynaud's phenomenon and the absence of the triphasic colour change may alert clinicians to the diagnosis, which may be confirmed by Allen's test. Doppler or arteriographic studies are required for confirmation. It is important to recognize the possibility of HHS in the occupational setting as a potentially curable cause of Raynaud's phenomenon, distinct from hand-arm vibration syndrome. The possibility exists of HHS occurring as a result of repeated hypothenar trauma from vibrating tools, in which case the nature and magnitude of the individual episode of trauma may be more important than the weighted acceleration level of vibration exposure.
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Occupational medicine · May 2003
Measurement of beryllium in lung tissue of a chronic beryllium disease case and cases with sarcoidosis.
The clinical features of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are similar to many other chronic lung diseases. In particular, it may be difficult to distinguish it from pulmonary sarcoidosis since the two conditions may be very alike in clinical, pathological and radiological features. Aim To determine if the amount of beryllium found in the lungs could be used to differentiate CBD from sarcoidosis and controls. ⋯ The CBD case had beryllium levels within the range of values reported in the literature. The differentiation between CBD and sarcoidosis could not be made with reasonable assurance based only on the analytic result. Occupational history is very important in making a diagnosis of CBD, along with the analysis of tissues. Tissue analysis helped confirm the diagnosis of compensatable CBD in this particular case.
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Of the many health-related effects of shift work, disturbed sleep is the most common. This review describes the main observed effects of the three principal shifts (night, morning and afternoon) on patterns of sleep and wakefulness. ⋯ These are only partially amenable to amelioration by manipulating shift patterns. However, there is no clear indication that chronic sleep problems result from long-term shift work.