Do pre-placement examinations prevent occupational asthma?

*

3

The positive predictive values of screening criteria are too poorly discriminating for screening out potentially susceptible individuals, particularly in the case of atopy where the trait is highly prevalent.

Evidence

Cockcroft A, Edwards J, McCarthy P et al , Allergy in laboratory animal workers , Lancet , 1981 ; 1 : 827-828

Juniper CP, Roberts DM , Enzyme asthma: fourteen years clinical experience of a recently prescribed disease , J Soc Occup Med , 1984 ; 34 : 126-132

Newill CA, Evans R, KhouryMJ , Pre-employment screening for allergy to laboratory animals: epidemiologic evaluation of its potential usefulness , J Occup Med , 1986 ; 28 : 1158-1164

Niezborala M, Garnier R , Allergy to complex platinum salts: A historical prospective cohort study , Occup Environ Med , 1996 ; 53 : 525-257

Renstrom A, Malmberg P, Larsson K et al , Prospective study of laboratory animal allergy: factors predisposing to sensitisation and development of allergic symptoms , Allergy , 1994 ; 49 : 548-552

Slovak AJ , Occupational asthma caused by a plastics blowing agent, azodicarbonamide , Thorax , 1981 ; 36 : 906-909

Venables KM, Upton JL, Hawkins ER et al , Smoking, atopy, and laboratory animal allergy , Br J Ind Med , 1988 ; 45 : 667-671