OBJECTIVES To examine whether underground construction workers exposed to tunnelling pollutants over a follow up period of 8 years have an increased risk of decline in lung function and respiratory symptoms compared with reference subjects working outside the tunnel atmosphere, and relate the findings to job groups and cumulative exposure to dust and gases. METHODS 96 Tunnel workers and a ref...

After several cases of occupational asthma had been reported in a coffee processing factory in England, 197 coffee workers representing 80% of the production workforce were studied to determine the factors affecting the development of work related respiratory symptoms of wheeze, cough, and dyspnoea. Two computer administered questionnaires concerning the presence of respiratory symptoms and the...

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence and risk factors for symptoms related to gloves, and the relation between symptoms and immunological evidence of type 1 hypersensitivity to latex in a United Kingdom health care setting. METHODS A cross sectional survey was carried out among 773 employees at a British hospital. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect information about sympt...

1 of 2 DESCRIPTION A 27-year-old woman presented to our clinic with sudden-onset of nasal discharge and bilateral periorbital oedema ( fi gures 1 and 2 ). Although she had been well until the morning, she noticed the extensive, rapidly progressing symptom during exercise at gymnasium after lunch containing fried-wheat. She had no history of food allergies. We performed a radioallergosorbent tes...

This study was aimed to investigate the sensitization pattern to a range of common allergens in young Singaporean children. A cross-sectional study involving 75 children aged below 3 years was carried out. They presented between December 1995 and April 2000 with symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, eczema, or food allergy. Their levels of allergen-specific serum IgE to a panel of foods (egg white, mil...

Adverse reactions during hemodialysis are extremely common and include a wide range of clinical presentations from mild to life threatening. We present a case of a 34 year old woman in the Burn Intensive Care Unit, who developed acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy. She was placed on continuous veno-venous hemofiltration with the NxStage machine which uses a synthetic PUREMA ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Very little is known about the response rates to or appropriateness of treatment for patients with allergic fungal diseases of the lung. This study assessed the effect of antifungal therapy in patients with severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). METHODS A retrospective cohort study of 33 adult patients who fu...

BACKGROUND Recombinant allergens are under investigation for replacing allergen extracts in immunotherapy. Site-directed mutagenesis has been suggested as a strategy to develop hypoallergenic molecules that will reduce the risk of side effects. For decades, chemically modified allergen extracts have been used for the same reason. AIM To evaluate whether glutaraldehyde modification is a good s...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Despite the increase of latex allergy in general population, severe anaphylactic events during some surgical procedures are still rare; however, they are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients affected by this event represent a challenge for anesthesiologists. The objective of this report was to des...