Latex allergy symptoms among health care workers: results from a university health and safety surveillance system

Details

• Personal Author:
  Archibong E ; Dement, John M. ; Duncan J ; Epling C ; Østbye T ; Pompeii LA
• Description:
  We sought to describe risk factors for latex glove allergy symptoms among health care workers by combining data from an active clinical surveillance program and a comprehensive occupational health surveillance system. A total of 4,584 employers completed a latex allergy questionnaire. Six percent (n = 276) of subjects reported symptoms consistent with latex allergy. Years of latex glove use was a significant risk factor for latex allergy symptoms even after controlling for the effects of atopy, gender, age, race, fruit, and other allergies. Nurses, medical or lab technicians, physician's assistants, other clinical professionals, and housekeepers had the highest prevalence of latex glove allergy symptoms. Forty subjects (0.87%) who were confirmed as having latex sensitization. Sensitizsation may have been underestimated due to use of specific IgE antibody, less sensitive than skin-prick testing, and tiered design leading to laboratory assessment on a subset of the cohort. This surveillance program identified risk factors for latex allergy symptoms. Our findings provide a basis for tailoring future prevention strategies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Antibodies Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hypersensitivity Laboratories Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Skin Skin Diseases Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Allergic-dermatitis Allergic-reactions Allergies Antibody-response Gloves Health-care-personnel Health-surveys Housekeeping-personnel Laboratory-workers Medical-equipment Medical-personnel Nurses Questionnaires Risk-factors Sensitization Skin-exposure Skin-irritants Skin-tests Surveillance-programs

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• ISSN:
  1077-3525
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17-23
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038370
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Environ Health 2011 Jan-Mar; 17(1):17-23
• Contact Point Address:
  C. Epling, Division of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Department of Community & Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, 2200 W. Main Street, Suite 600, Durham, NC 27705, USA
• Email:
  eplin002@mc.duke.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  Duke University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20060929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8582a14bc9db15e463114f74ab5f8479d003fc55131772b7659f7c0310fc7810fb8483189a4d73065f4dbdd5d49ee5e256c538b9c22a5f33a97298f3c9645d2f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192098/cdc_192098_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 423.89 KB ]