1,721,124 research outputs found
Methodology and results of an experience of medical surveillance of people previously exposed to asbestos in Tuscany
No full textAlthough medical surveillance of workers previously exposed to asbestos has been made mandatory by several laws since 1991 (recently confirmed by the law 81/08), neither the subject encharged of it nor the medical protocols have been yet established. In the absence of a specific regulation different medical protocols have been proposed by several centers often with no respect of ethical or radioprotectionist principles, such as some screening programs exclusively based on radiologic exams. With the aim of setting up a secondary preventive health program according both to a correct ethical and economic cost-effective balance, we followed up a cohort of 647 workers. The medical protocol included a physical exam, functional respiratory tests, thoracic Xray and low dose CT scans along with some experimental biologic markers such as mesothelin and osteopontin. All the mentioned tests were periodically administered to asbestos workers according to the individual level of risk. This risk-modulated preventive medical protocol allowed us to diagnose respiratory diseases in up to 39% of the investigated population, 2/3 of which were classified as asbestos-related occupational diseases. In conclusion our data suggest that the integration of different kind of exams, with limited use of radiology, is effective in the medical follow-up of asbestos-exposed workers. Regional health politics should begin to take into account this reported evidence
Differenze di genere, salute e sicurezza sul lavoro: Tra norme ed evidenze di letteratura
No full textThe gender issue is an emerging topic in occupational medicine, although still not sufficiently explored in the medical literature nor addressed by an appropriate Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) legislation. The "classic mono-causal occupational disease" is nearly disappeared, replaced by the more and more frequent multi-factorial so-called "work-related diseases". These can be caused by a variable combination both of occupational and non-occupational factors. This change in the occupational diseases scenario requires a new multidisciplinary approach to the workplace prevention strategy, involving all different aspects of science, technology and policy. The adoption of gender as a new category of scientific investigation implies a novel holistic approach to research, based on the contamination and partially integration of the epistemological statutes and research methodologies of different scientific disciplines, also in order to support policy with more practical and effective instruments and knowledge. On the other hand, more efforts should be made to integrate public health care, OH&S policy with social welfare. Here the authors discuss about the implementation of the "gender-parameter" in some aspects of the OH&S Italian legislation, recently introduced by the 81/08 law, and briefly report on the state of the art of occupational medical literature with regard to gender differences. © FrancoAngeli
Prevalenza di patologie tiroidee negli operatori sanitari radioesposti dell'Azienda 0spedaliero Universitaria Pisana
No full textRadiazioni non ionizzanti e risonanza magnetica nucleare: effetti biologici e sorveglianza sanitaria
No full text
Salute e Sicurezza sul lavoro, una questione anche di genere. Rischi lavorativi. Un approccio multidisciplinare.
No full textSoluble markers for diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma
No full textMalignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive and invasive tumor, whose incidence is expected to peak, in many countries, at the end of the present decade, 20-40 years after the peak of asbestos use (asbestos being the most important etiological factor). MPM has a poor prognosis, in part, owing to a difficult and often late diagnosis hindered by a lack of available tests able to diagnose or predict this cancer in its early stages. Recently, there has been increased interest in noninvasive, economic and well-accepted diagnostic tests for screening of asbestos-exposed subjects, as well as for monitoring response of MPM patients to treatment. Several markers have been studied in biofluids, such as serum, plasma and pleural effusions, especially using ELISA, and some of them are still under investigation. However, only mesothelin and ostepontin have proven levels of sensitivity and specificity that are worth testing in the clinical setting
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