Table 4.
Demographic, clinical and functional characteristics of MDI-exposed asymptomatic industrial workers
| Patient no. # | Demographic data | MDI exposure. year (*PPE) | Biomonitoring MDA values (at the time of sampling) Air monitoring. median value 5 ppb | Immunological status | Reported duration of resp. sympt (year). | Lung function | SPT MDI-HSA | MDI-SIC | MDI-HSA-specific antibodies | Final clinical diagnosis | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Age | Smo-king status | SPT comm. allerg. | Total IgE kU/L | FVC % pred | FEV1 % pred. | NS-BHR | MDI-sIgE kU/L | MDI-sIgG mg/L | |||||||
| Group B: Workplace field controls; workers currently exposed to MDI | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | M | 38 | Yes | 11.3 | 0.16 μg MDA/g Creatinine | Neg. | 39.3 | – | 98 | 84 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | <0.02 | <3 | RCI |
| 2 | M | 43 | Yes | 10.1 | 0.90 μg MDA/g Creatinine. | Neg. | 42.9 | – | 102 | 98 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | <0.02 | <3 | RCI |
| 3 | M | 33 | Yes | 8.2 (*) | 0.30 μg MDA/g Creatinine | Neg. | 97.3 | – | 104 | 84 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | 0.25 | 3.5 | H |
| 4 | M | 33 | No | 7.7 | 0.32 μg MDA/g Creatinine | Neg. | 37.7 | – | 97 | 88 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | <0.02 | <3 | CI |
| 5 | M | 32 | Yes | 5.5 | 0.20 μg MDA/g Creatinine | Neg. | 13.3 | – | 109 | 91 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | <0.02 | <3 | CI |
| 6 | M | 25 | No | 2.1 | 0.22 μg MDA/g Creatinine | Pos. | 28.6 | – | 96 | 92 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | <0.02 | <3 | RCIDI |
The six industrial workers involved in the production of MDI cont. coatings reported to have no respiratory symptoms (questioner) before being enrolled for the analysis. 5 showed RC/C symptoms after the work week, only one worker hat no measurable symptoms. Only one worker was wearing the personal protective mask (PPE) during the whole work shift M, Male; F, Female; comm. allerg., common allergens; MDI exp. duration of work-related exposure to MDI; lag time, lag time since last exposure; resp. sympt, duration of reported respiratory symptoms; FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; NSBHR, non-specific bronchial hyper-responsiveness; MDI-SIC, MDI-specific inhalation challenge; sIgE, MDI-specific IgE; sIgG, MDI-specific IgG. OAI, occupational MDI asthma; PI, MDI-induced hypersensitivity pneumonitis; DI, dermatitis, due to MDI; CI, conjunctivitis due to MDI; RCI, rhino-conjunctivities, due to MDI; n.d. not determined; H, healthy