Occupational Hazards of Hospital Personnel: Assessment of a Safe Alternative to Formaldehyde

Abstract

Occupational Hazards of Hospital Personnel: Assessment of a Safe Alternative to Formaldehyde: Fabio BERTON, et al. Department of Public Policies and Public Choice, University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy— Objectives Formaldehyde —a chemical widely used to preserve organic tissues in hospitals —is known to be carcinogenic in the long term and to cause breathing‐related symptoms in the short term. We have taken advantage of an experiment to quantify this second effect among hospital workers in terms of probability of showing respiratory symptoms with respect to a benchmark in which tissues are preserved using a procedure with arguably no impact, i.e., under‐vacuum sealing. Methods This paper exploits an experimental situation with controls for potential confounding effects to estimate a logistic regression of the probability that formalin (a solution of formaldehyde and water) causes respiratory symptoms. Results The probability for formalin users was found to be eight to ten times higher than for personnel testing under‐vacuum sealing. Conclusions The substitution of formaldehyde with under‐vacuum sealing would markedly improve the health of personnel.

A Collection of Primary Tissue Cultures of Tumors from Vacuum Packed and Cooled Surgical Specimens: A Feasibility Study

“…Since the adoption at our institution of an innovative method for tissue collection, transport and storage of surgical specimens based on VPAC technology [5], [7], [8], we have demonstrated in these specimens optimal tissue morphology as well as integrity of antigens for ICC and excellent preservation of nucleic acids to perform molecular analyses [6], [9]. We now show a further implementation of VPAC technology.…”

“…Following excision in the surgical theater, surgical specimens were immediately placed into beta-ray sterilized plastic bags and vacuum sealed using the TissueSAFE machine (Mod. VAC 10, by Milestone, Bergamo, Italy; see www.milestonemedsrl.com), according to a procedure originally reported by our group [7] and currently implemented as a standard technique in our hospital [5], [8]. The VPAC specimens were kept and transferred to the pathology lab at 4°C in a chilled plastic box.…”

“…A good model for preserving sterility and cell viability could be that proposed for preserving organ for transplantation, in which the first goal is reached by packing the organ in several layers of sterile containers and the second by cooling at 4°C the organ by surrounding it with an icy slush mixture [4]. In our University hospital we have recently introduced a new method of collection, transfer and preservation of surgical specimens [5], [6], [7], [8]. This method requires immediate vacuum sealing of excised specimens at surgical theaters, followed by time-controlled transferring at 4°C to the pathology laboratory [6], [7].…”

Collective strategy for facing occupational risks of a nursing team

“…This is due to the peculiarities of the work, as well as its organization and division, since they remain in this environment throughout the working day and for much of their productive life (1) . Risks/hazards and procedures at work are related to the interaction of the worker with a diversity of substances and materials in inappropriate physical environments/spaces, enhanced by the fast pace of work, pressure from supervisors, long shifts, inappropriate use or even the non-use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the lack of collective protection measures (2) . These situations lead to physical and mental exhaustion, which can result in work accidents and worker illness (3) .…”

Occupational Health and Safety of Healthcare Personnel

“…), psychological (stress etc.) deformation (Bi et al, 2008;Saha et al,2005;Clarke et al, 2002;Sun et al, 2012;Barbadoro et al, 2012;Uchiyama et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014;Errico et al, 2013;Kişioğlu et al, 2002;Sveinsdóttir, Biering & Ramel, 2006) and they catch contagious diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis; skin diseases such as dermatitis; vascular diseases such as varicosis; and occupational diseases such as cancer due to the fact that their occupational environment safety is not ensured (Berton & Novi, 2012;Horsman & Sheeran, 1995;Bell, 1997).…”