Health Surveillance

The following references have been associated with this question by users of this website. They do not form part of the BOHRF occupational asthma guidelines.

burgeps	Mackie 2008	This is a report of surveillance for a large group of motor vehicle repairers exposed to isocyanate containing paints. The company contracted to do the health surveillance provided a questionaaire and spirometry, supervised by nurses, and a paper review of abnormal responses by a qualified occupational physician. If the OP thought that occupational asthma was possible, referral to the workerss GP was made with a request for on-referral to a respiratory specialist. Of 92 referred to a GP only 32 were referred to a specialist and only 20 attended, 9 of whom were diagnosed as occupational asthma. This shows how a surveillance scheme which does not include responsibility for surveilaance failures is unlikely to be effective.
burgeps	Meijster 2011	This modelling exercise based on real data drom the Dutch Bakeries longitudinal study shows that immediate relocation to a workplace with 90% reduction in exposure at the first sign of rhinitis or sensitisation to wheat flour or amylase was the most effective measure for reducing disabling occupational asthma, more effective than applying state of the art dust control to all bakeries.