The data are important for planning preventive efforts in the future. The workers in the healthcare sector, kitchen workers and cleaners constitute almost half of all cases, and future preventive efforts should be directed at these occupations.

The data from the present study strongly support an association between smoking and hand eczema severity. However, owing to the cross-sectional design of the study, no conclusion on causation can be drawn.

The low median age, the high percentages of atopic dermatitis in apprentices and the fact that more apprentices than fully trained hairdressers had recognized occupational contact dermatitis underlines the importance of early prevention.

SummaryBackground. Occupational hand eczema and/or contact urticaria may have social consequences such as change of profession or not remaining in the workforce. Objectives. To identify factors associated with job change in a cohort of participants with recognised occupational hand eczema/contact urticaria Methods. A registry-based study including 2703 employees with recognised occupational hand eczema/contact urticaria in Denmark in 2010/2011. Four to five years later the participants received a follow-up questionnaire, comprising questions on current job situation (response rate 58.0%). Results. At follow-up, 51.3% of the participants were no longer in the same profession. 32.5% had changed profession and 18.8% were no longer in employment. Change of profession was associated with young age, positive patch test, low educational level and severity of hand eczema/contact urticaria. With regard to specific professions, cleaning personnel changed profession significantly more often than other workers [71.4% (OR = 2.26)], health care workers significantly less often than other workers [34.0% (OR = 0.36)]. Conclusion. Job change occurs frequently during the first years after recognition of occupational hand eczema/contact urticaria and more often among patients with positive patch test reactions, with severe hand eczema/contact urticaria. Whether job changes improve the prognosis of occupational hand eczema/contact urticaria remains to be established.Key words: change of profession; contact allergy; contact dermatitis; irritants; job change; occupational contact eczema; positive patch test.Occupational contact dermatitis is the most frequently recognized occupational disease in Denmark (1). It has a negative impact on quality of life (2-5), and may have social consequences such as change of profession or not remaining in the workforce (3-6). Occupational hand eczema and/or contact urticaria are, by definition, either caused or aggravated by exposures in the workplace, leading to irritant or allergic contact dermatitis and contact urticaria, respectively. Identification of the causative exposure, followed by intervention, is necessary for secondary prevention. Information on skin protection and personal protective equipment may sometimes improve the situation sufficiently, but, in other cases, reassignment to new tasks or change of profession may be the ultimate consequence of occupational contact dermatitis (4-10).The reasons for a change of profession because of occupational hand eczema and/or contact urticaria could be speculated to comprise discomfort in relation to job tasks, induction of flares when at work, a requirement to have presentable and delicate hands, and not being allowed

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It may be that lower economic benefits during sick leave in the United States lead to favorable results from functional restoration programs, whereas greater benefits in Canada, Finland, and Denmark result in different conclusions. Finally, it may be that the difference in results across studies points simply to whether the studies were randomized.

This study investigated a number of biomarkers, associated with systemic inflammation as well as genotoxicity, in 53 young and healthy subjects participating in a course to become firefighters, while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). The exposure period consisted of a 3-day training course where the subjects participated in various live-fire training exercises. The subjects were instructed to extinguish fires of either wood or wood with electrical cords and mattresses. The personal exposure was measured as dermal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations and urinary excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP). The subjects were primarily exposed to particulate matter (PM) in by-stander positions, since the self-contained breathing apparatus effectively prevented pulmonary exposure. There was increased dermal exposure to pyrene (68.1%, 95% CI: 52.5%, 83.8%) and sum of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ƩPAH; 79.5%, 95% CI: 52.5%, 106.6%), and increased urinary excretion of 1-OHP (70.4%, 95% CI: 52.5%; 106.6%) after the firefighting exercise compared with the mean of two control measurements performed 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the firefighting course, respectively. The level of Fpg-sensitive sites in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was increased by 8.0% (95% CI: 0.02%, 15.9%) compared with control measurements. The level of DNA strand breaks was positively associated with dermal exposure to pyrene and ƩPAHs, and urinary excretion of 1-OHP. Fpg-sensitive sites were only associated positively with PAHs. Biomarkers of inflammation and lung function showed no consistent response. In summary, the study demonstrated that PAH exposure during firefighting activity was associated with genotoxicity in PBMCs.

Thirty patients with acute pancreatitis were allocated to indomethacin suppositories, 50 mg twice daily, or identical-looking placebo suppositories for 7 days in a controlled double-blind trial. The groups of patients were not different with regard to age, sex, etiology, or number of Ranson criteria. The number of days with pain and number of opiate injections were significantly less in patients treated with indomethacin. The median values of serum amylase and serum calcium were not different before or at any day during treatment. Bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract was not seen.