Outdoor ambient air pollutant exposures in communities are relevant to the acute exacerbation and possibly the onset of asthma. However, the complexity of pollutant mixtures and etiologic heterogeneity of asthma has made it difficult to identify causal components in those mixtures. Occupational exposures associated with asthma may yield clues to causal components in ambient air pollution becaus...

OBJECTIVE Persulfate salts are among the most frequently implicated causes of occupational asthma. The aim of this study was to describe the course of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and immunologic test results in patients with occupational asthma due to persulfate salts. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ten patients with occupational asthma due to persulfate salts were studied. Diagnosis was based on spe...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The management of immunologically mediated occupational asthma may be difficult in clinical practice since complete avoidance of exposure to the sensitizing agent is associated with a substantial adverse socio-economic impact. The purpose of this review was to critically analyze the available information on the effectiveness of reducing exposure as an alternative to complete a...

BACKGROUND Glutaraldehyde is the best disinfectant for fibreoptic endoscopes. It is also used in the processing of x ray films. A number of studies have reported eye, nose, and respiratory symptoms in exposed workers. Three individual case reports of occupational asthma in endoscopy workers and a radiographer have also been published. We describe a further seven cases of occupational asthma due...

BACKGROUND The aim of this paper is to highlight emerging data on occupational attributable risk in asthma. Despite well documented outbreaks of disease and the recognition of numerous specific causal agents, occupational exposures previously had been relegated a fairly minor role relative to other causes of adult onset asthma. In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the potenti...

: Work-related asthma is asthma that is caused or exacerbated by exposures at work. It is the most common form of occupational lung disease in developed countries. It has important impacts on the health and well-being of the affected individual, as well as consequences for society because of unemployment issues and workers' compensation claims. With ongoing exposure, occupational asthma can res...

BACKGROUND The facilities which should be available to physicians offering specialist occupational asthma services have recently been agreed upon by a UK panel of experts. AIMS This study aimed to investigate whether these facilities are available in UK non-specialist secondary care respiratory departments and to document tertiary care referral patterns. METHODS A random sample of 100 UK re...