Monitoring organophosphate insecticide-exposed workers for cholinesterase depression. New technology for office or field use

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cedillo L ; Keifer, Max ; McConnell R ; Palomo MR
• Description:
  The precision and field performance of a new kit for measuring erythrocyte cholinesterase were evaluated. The kit was based on the Ellman assay. The battery operated colorimeter made use of a novel application of a light emitting diode. By adjusting cholinesterase for hemoglobin concentration, it was possible to markedly reduce interindividual variability and the associated false negative cholinesterase tests common to other assays. The study population consisted of 23 pesticide formulators at a factory in Mexico who were exposed to hexachlorobenzene (118741), DDT (50293), and methyl-parathion (298000) during the 2 weeks prior to the evaluation. All workers had normal cholinesterase, and exposed and unexposed workers had similar mean cholinesterase levels. While erythrocyte cholinesterase had a coefficient of variation of 12%, hemoglobin adjusted erythrocyte cholinesterase had a markedly reduced coefficient of variation. The 90% confidence interval resulted in a lower normal limit that was 78% of the upper limit. Even if a preexposure baseline were high normal, but unknown at the time of examination, the supervising clinician could be confident that any person with a normal result would be no less than 78% of baseline. A pesticide applicator poisoned with organophosphates showed markedly inhibited cholinesterase activity. The authors conclude that the kit carries a moderate price, is easy to use in a field setting, and the low variability to the assay should allow improvement in diagnosis, screening, and in the epidemiologic evaluation of exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Blood Cholinesterase Inhibitors Enzymes Hematologic Tests Hydrocarbons Insecticides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-workers Blood-analysis Blood-tests Chlorinated-hydrocarbons Cholinesterase-inhibitors Enzyme-activity Pesticides Testing-equipment
• ISSN:
  0096-1736
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 2 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  34-37
• Volume:
  34
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00204721
• Citation:
  J Occup Med 1992 Jan; 34(1):34-37
• CAS Registry Number:
  DDT (CAS RN 50-29-3) ; Hexachlorobenzene (CAS RN 118-74-1) ; Parathion-methyl (CAS RN 2Furfuryl alcohol (CAS RN 98-00-0))
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19860929
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational Medicine
• End Date:
  19900331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b25f00f6e2aa56d6b0bf7926211363bdddc206fe319fff6f07ef085c36ff2a13a8774f824d25c6267d90a421777670357444519b2ab4574fbd093b0576db8e2e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205129/cdc_205129_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 362.16 KB ]