Abstract
Thirty-nine electronics workers were investigated by bronchial provocation testing to soldering fluxes containing colophony and were followed up one to four years later. At presentation and on follow-up each worker had nonspecific bronchial reactivity measured with inhaled histamine, and also had detailed measurements of lung function and estimation of total immunoglobulin levels. They completed a questionnaire designed to detect residual disability. The workers were divided into three groups. Twenty had left work after their initial diagnosis, eight had been moved to alternative work within their original factories, and 11 were thought to have asthma unrelated to colophony exposure as they failed to react to colophony at presentation. Histamine reactivity had returned to normal in half the workers who had left their original factories, but in only one worker who had moved within her original factory. This suggested that the nonspecific bronchial reactivity to histamine was the result rather than the cause of the occupational asthma, and that indirect exposure at work was sufficient to delay recovery of histamine reactivity. However, only two of the 20 affected workers who had left their original factories were symptom free on follow-up, and most had a considerable reduction in their quality of life by continuing asthma, which was particularly provoked by exercise, respiratory infections, and nonspecific irritants. Continuing symptoms may have been caused by domestic sources of colophony, or possibly the failure to eliminate colophony from the lungs.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Adams W. G. Long-term effects on the health of men engaged in the manufacture of tolylene di-isocyanate. Br J Ind Med. 1975 Feb;32(1):72–78. doi: 10.1136/oem.32.1.72. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Brostoff J., Mowbray J. F., Kapoor A., Hollowell S. J., Rudolf M., Saunders K. B. 80% of patients with intrinsic asthma are homozygous for HLA W6. Is intrinsic asthma a recessive disease? Lancet. 1976 Oct 23;2(7991):872–873. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(76)90537-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bryant D. H., Burns M. W. The relationship between bronchial histamine reactivity and atopic status. Clin Allergy. 1976 Jul;6(4):373–381. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1976.tb01919.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Burge P. S., Edge G., Hawkins R., White V., Taylor A. J. Occupational asthma in a factory making flux-cored solder containing colophony. Thorax. 1981 Nov;36(11):828–834. doi: 10.1136/thx.36.11.828. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Burge P. S., Harries M. G., O'Brien I. M., Pepys J. Respiratory disease in workers exposed to solder flux fumes containing colophony (pine resin). Clin Allergy. 1978 Jan;8(1):1–14. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1978.tb00441.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Burge P. S., Harries M. G., O'Brien I., Pepys J. Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes. Clin Allergy. 1980 Mar;10(2):137–149. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1980.tb02091.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Burge P. S., Perks W. H., O'Brien I. M., Burge A., Hawkins R., Brown D., Green M. Occupational asthma in an electronics factory: a case control study to evaluate aetiological factors. Thorax. 1979 Jun;34(3):300–307. doi: 10.1136/thx.34.3.300. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Burge P. S., Perks W., O'Brien I. M., Hawkins R., Green M. Occupational asthma in an electronics factory. Thorax. 1979 Feb;34(1):13–18. doi: 10.1136/thx.34.1.13. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chan-Yeung M. Fate of occupational asthma. A follow-up study of patients with occupational asthma due to Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). Am Rev Respir Dis. 1977 Dec;116(6):1023–1029. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1977.116.6.1023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lam S., Wong R., Yeung M. Nonspecific bronchial reactivity in occupational asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1979 Jan;63(1):28–34. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(79)90158-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Musk A. W., Gandevia B. Loss of pulmonary elastic recoil in workers formerly exposed to proteolytic enzyme (alcalase) in the detergent industry. Br J Ind Med. 1976 Aug;33(3):158–165. doi: 10.1136/oem.33.3.158. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]