Population Of Hospital Workers Research Articles

Folic acid supplementation use during the peri-conceptional period among professionals of a hospital in France

Folic acid insufficiency is an important risk factor for congenital neural tube defects. Despite recommendations and national campaigns, the proportion of women taking folic acid in the peri-conceptional period remains insufficient worldwide. We describe in this study the proportion of peri-conceptional folic acid supplementation use and its determinants among a population of hospital workers during the course of a prevention campaign. We performed a single-center cross sectional study in a university hospital in France. Data were collected during 2 months in 2019 by an online questionnaire sent to all professionals. We collected information about folic acid supplementation use, its modalities (form, period, frequency and dosage) and reason for initiating or not supplementation. Response rate was 11.4 % (n = 1,075/9,447). Among the 748 women who reported at least one pregnancy, 72.7 % (95 % CI: 69.4–76.0 %) reported taking folic acid during their last pregnancy. Main reason for initiating supplementation was information given by a health professional (87.8 %), especially by gynaecologists-obstetricians. Principal factors associated with folic acid supplementation use were age between 25 and 35 years, high level of education and recent pregnancy. Folic acid supplementation use is still not systematic before and during pregnancy, even among health professionals. There is a case for mandatory folic acid fortification for the French general population.

Risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among hospital employees in Italy: a single-centre study.

BackgroundThe SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreak early in 2020 overwhelmed the Italian national health system, and hospitals were considered places at high risk of spreading the infection. We explored specific antibody seroprevalence of all employees at a single hospital in the epicentre of the outbreak, to identify areas of risk in nosocomial setting and to evaluate the usefulness of antibody testing.AimsAim of this study was to explore SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence in a single hospital workers cohort.MethodsAll hospital workers were invited to fill in a questionnaire and undergo a blood test for SARS‐CoV‐2 IgG, using two commercial tests (DiaSorin and Abbott). Seropositivity was determined overall and according to demographic and occupations characteristics, for both tests singly and combined.ResultsThe study enrolled 1562 hospital workers (95% of the eligible population). Overall, 153 (9.8%) participants were positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 IgG on DiaSorin test, and 150 (9.6%) were positive on Abbott test; both tests were positive in 123 (7.9%) cases and at least one was positive in 180 (11.5%) cases. Factors associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 seropositivity included: being a smoker, working in emergency or medicine departments, being a healthcare practitioner, self‐reporting a relative with COVID‐19 or symptoms suggestive of COVID‐19, and having undergone a nasopharyngeal swab test. The tests were accurate in discriminating infected cases, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.867 using manufacturer‐suggested cut‐offs and 0.929 using optimised cut‐offs. For discriminating symptomatic subjects, this value was 0.915 using optimised cut‐offs.ConclusionsSeroprevalence for SARS‐CoV‐2 in this population of hospital workers was overall about 10%, with an excess prevalence in roles and departments associated with contacts with COVID‐19 patients.

Serum aspirin esterase activity in cord blood and in adults

There is scarce information about altered aspirin – esterase (AE) activities in various physiological and pathological states, as well as the putative agents modulating this activity. Since there are no data on AE levels in cord blood, we set up this study to measure its activity in neonates' cord blood and in adults, using an optimized technique developed in our laboratory. We performed a case-control study with 28 newborns, and control adult subjects were selected from a healthy population of hospital workers. Aspirin esterase activity in cord blood was 60 ± 12 nmol/mL/min vs 87 ± 12 nmol/mL/min in adults, p r = 0.86 p

Sonographic diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: a study in 200 hospital workers.

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a sample of 200 healthy hospital workers, establishing the respective epidemiological associations.Materials and MethodsTwo hundred individuals were submitted to wrist ultrasonography to measure the median nerve area. They were questioned and examined for epidemiological data, body mass index, carpal tunnel syndrome signs and symptoms, and submitted to the Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire (BCTQ) to evaluate the carpal tunnel syndrome severity. A median nerve area ≥ 9 mm2 was considered to be diagnostic of carpal tunnel syndrome.ResultsCarpal tunnel syndrome was diagnosed by ultrasonography in 34% of the sample. It was observed the association of carpal tunnel syndrome with age (p < 0.0001), paresthesia (p < 0.0001), Tinel’s test (p < 0.0001), Phalen’s test (p < 0.0001), BCTQ score (p < 0.0001), and years of formal education (p < 0.0001). Years of formal education was the only variable identified as an independent risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome (95% CI = 1.03 to 1.24).ConclusionThe prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a population of hospital workers was of 34%. The number of years of formal education was the only independent risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome.

O040. Migraineurs and self-consciousness of illness in a population of hospital workers.

Background The World Health Organization has classified headache as the 14 cause of disabling illnesses. Millions of people are affected by this pathology, especially during their working life. Surprisingly, subjects affected by headache, in particular by migraine, present a low degree of self-awareness of their pathology, and they do not usually consult any headache center [1]. For this reason migraineurs often go towards serious complications, such as chronicization or drug abuse. We investigated, in a selected population of workers, employees of the Ospedali Riuniti in Ancona, the number of people affected by headache and their awareness. We also investigated the drugs used to verify the use of a specific therapy for such a diffused pathology.

Headache in a population of hospital workers.

Headache prevalence is very high, especially during working life. Hospital workers are expected to be particularly careful with health problems. Few data are available about the dimension of the headache-related problems among hospital workers, including disease awareness and diagnostic delay. 502 subjects employed in our hospital (doctors, nurses, technicians, administrative employees) were enrolled over a 3-month period and submitted to a questionnaire about the presence of headache, its characteristics and time spent from disease onset to diagnosis. We used the ID-migraine test, a validated tool, to obtain a correct migraine diagnosis based on a three-question test. Age and education were collected as continuous variables while the other variables (sex, presence of headache, presence of migraine, diagnosis put by the general practitioners) were encoded as binary. The difference of the distribution of the analyzed variables in tables was evaluated with χ (2) test. The data were analyzed with SPSS 13.0 for Windows systems. In the analyzed population (mean age 40.15 ± 11.0 years; males 60.7 %), 216 patients complained of headache (43.1 %) and 77 (15.4 %) were diagnosed as migraineous at the in-hospital evaluation. Among the 216 cephalalgic patients, the majority (59.7 %, p < 0.0001 at χ (2) test) did not refer to their general practitioner. Of the 77 patients affected by migraine, 55.8 % referred to their general practitioner, but only 27 (35.1 %) received a definite migraine diagnosis. Fifty subjects (64.9 %) were still undiagnosed and unevaluated at the moment of our survey (p < 0.0001 at χ (2) test). Headache prevalence was very high in this population of hospital workers. Diagnostic errors and delays were frequent. Unexpectedly, self-awareness of the headache was very low. Headache, particularly migraine, is a relevant cause of loss of working days and low productivity. Our findings suggest the necessity to program initiatives aimed to raise the awareness of headache in order to improve diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities.

Migraine in health workers: working in a hospital can be considered an advantage?

Migraine is the most common form of headache, and is one of the most diffused pathologies in the world. Moreover, patients often lose years before obtaining a correct diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether diagnostic delay differs between hospital workers, in theory more sensible to health problems, and common people. We compared our cohort of patients attending the headache center on which we put a diagnosis of migraine with and without aura with a sample of hospital workers investigated about headache presence and characteristics. Particularly, hospital workers were evaluated by ID-migraine test, a three-question test validated to formulate a migraine diagnosis. Continuous variables (age and diagnostic delay) were compared with t test for independent samples. Dichotomous and categorical variables were compared with Chi squared test. The mean difference between in-hospital workers and outpatients was analyzed with a GLM/multivariate model accounting for age and sex. The difference between the single subcategory of workers affected by migraine was explored with a GLM/multivariate model accounting of age and sex. Five hundred and ninety-nine patients affected by migraine with and without aura were enrolled. Demographical characteristics were comparable in the two study populations. In-hospital workers (99 patients) had a mean longer diagnostic delay (14.89 years; 95 % CI: 7.85-21.93 years) with respect to the outpatients (12.13 years; 95 % CI: 5.37-18.89 years). The difference resulted statistically significant at the multivariate model (p < 0.05). Single subpopulations of in-hospital workers did not have a statistically significant different delay in diagnosing migraine. Diagnostic delay was significantly longer in hospital workers with respect to outpatients. Then, we can conclude that our population of hospital workers did not present a particular attention to their headache, probably because of a tendency to self-treating. Moreover, we did not find differences among different typology of workers, underlining that different job experience and education did not contribute to a best management of headache. More information and informative initiatives are necessary to sensitize people about migraine, especially among hospital workers.

Genotoxic Damage in Hospital Workers Exposed to Ionizing Radiation and Metabolic Gene Polymorphisms

Of all workers exposed globally to synthetic sources of radiation, medical personnel represent the largest group, but receive relatively low doses. Accidental or therapeutic acute radiation exposure of humans was observed to induce various forms of cytogenetic damage, including the possibility of increasing the incidence of micronuclei (MN) and chromosomal aberrations (CA). The aim of this study was to assess occupationally induced chromosomal damage in a large population of hospital workers exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation (IR). The cytokinesis-block MN and comet assays were used to examine peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of 31 exposed workers to IR and 33 control subjects corresponding in gender, age, and smoking. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1) are postulated to be involved in the detoxification of endogenous and exogenous genotoxicants. The association between these biomarkers and polymorphic genes of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes was thus also assessed. MN frequency was significantly higher in the exposed subjects compared controls. Comet assay results showed a significant increase of tail length in workers exposed to IR. Data obtained suggest that GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 polymorphism do not modify significantly the genotoxic potential of IR. Therefore, the exposed medical personnel need to carefully apply radiation protection procedures and minimize, as low as possible, IR exposure to avoid possible genotoxic effects.

The Prevalence of Seatbelt Use among Pediatric Hospital Workers

Eighteen percent of drivers do not consistently wear their seatbelts when driving. The purpose of this article is to report the problem of noncompliance with seatbelt use among health care workers at a Level I pediatric trauma center in the midwest United States with evidence from a non-experimental, observational study. Results showed that 84% ( n = 3,641) of drivers and 73% ( n = 113) of passengers wore their seatbelts. A significant correlation was found between driver seatbelt use and passenger seatbelt use ( p = .272, p &lt; .001). Drivers from primary seatbelt legislation states wore their seatbelts significantly more often than drivers from the secondary seatbelt legislation state,x(1) = 0.913, p = .012. Non-compliance with seatbelt use among pediatric health care workers is a problem equal to that of the general population. It may be necessary to adopt and enforce mandatory seatbelt use policies at the organizational level to increase seatbelt use in this population of hospital workers.

The Prevalence of Seatbelt Use Among Pediatric Hospital Workers

Eighteen percent of drivers do not consistently wear their seatbelts when driving. The purpose of this article is to report the problem of noncompliance with seatbelt use among health care workers at a Level I pediatric trauma center in the midwest United States with evidence from a non-experimental, observational study. Results showed that 84% (n=3,641) of drivers and 73% (n=113) of passengers wore their seatbelts. A significant correlation was found between driver seatbelt use and passenger seatbelt use (p=.272, p<.001). Drivers from primary seatbelt legislation states wore their seatbelts significantly more often than drivers from the secondary seatbelt legislation state, χ(1)=0.913, p=.012. Non-compliance with seatbelt use among pediatric health care workers is a problem equal to that of the general population. It may be necessary to adopt and enforce mandatory seatbelt use policies at the organizational level to increase seatbelt use in this population of hospital workers.

Serum aspirin esterase activity in cord blood and in adults

AbstractThere is scarce information about altered aspirin – esterase (AE) activities in various physiological and pathological states, as well as the putative agents modulating this activity. Since there are no data on AE levels in cord blood, we set up this study to measure its activity in neonates' cord blood and in adults, using an optimized technique developed in our laboratory. We performed a case-control study with 28 newborns, and control adult subjects were selected from a healthy population of hospital workers. Aspirin esterase activity in cord blood was 60 ± 12 nmol/mL/min vs 87 ± 12 nmol/mL/min in adults, p &lt; 0.00001. No correlation of AE activity and HDL cholesterol, HDL/LDL cholesterol or paraoxonase 1 was found. Aspirin esterase correlated significantly with serum cholinesterase: r = 0.86 p &lt; 0.0001, which was also 30% ower in cord blood than in adults. We show here, for the first time, that cord blood serum has a significant aspirin esterase activity, even though is its 40% lower than that found in adults. Our data provide baseline information for future studies on the physiology of aspirin esterase in children and the factors that modulate its activity to reach adult levels.

Assessment of cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis by echocardiography

The main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with chronic sarcoidosis without clinical evidence of heart disease. The study includes 69 chronic sarcoidosis patients, 30 diagnosed by organ biopsy and 39 by clinical history, chest X-ray, high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), without suspected cardiac involvement. The control group consisted of 26 subjects selected from a population of hospital workers. The examination includes 12-lead ECG and echocardiographic examination. The results show that there were no differences in atrial size, left ventricular diameters, wall thickness, left ventricular ejection fraction or endocardial fractional shortening between the sarcoid group and controls. Signs of diastolic dysfunction were found in 33 (55%) patients, however, this group was significantly older than the others and had marginally higher blood pressure. Sarcoid patients had lower midwall fractional shortening (mFS) than controls; patients with diastolic dysfunction also had lower mFS but the difference was not significant. In conclusion, the results demonstrated an absence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction, evaluated by traditional echocardiographic methods, in our chronic sarcoidosis patients and an apparent absence of any relation between left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and sarcoidosis. Lower mFS was found among patients, particularly those with a long history of sarcoidosis. Further analysis is required to evaluate the significance of this index as a potential marker of heart involvement in chronic sarcoidosis.