Open AccessOccupationally related illness reported to a regional poison control center.
Author(s) -
Paul D. Blanc,
Kent R. Olson
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.76.11.1303
Subject(s) - poison control center , medicine , occupational safety and health , disease control , environmental health , medical surveillance , injury prevention , poison control , medical emergency , occupational exposure , suicide prevention , occupational disease , emergency medicine , pathology
The San Francisco Bay Area Regional Poison Control Center studied 189 cases of toxic workplace exposure occurring over a six-month period in the belief that Regional Poison Control Center reporting could be a useful surveillance measure for occupational disease. Dermatitis was a relatively uncommon occurrence, but systemic complaints were frequent, a pattern differing from that seen in standard occupational surveillance programs. As compared to chemically caused illness detected through a statewide physician reporting program in California, increases in proportional frequencies of certain industrial chemical causes were observed. A matching strategy utilizing the physician reporting system identified only 15.9 per cent of poison control center cases that appear to have been otherwise detected through established surveillance. A nationwide system of Regional Poison Control Centers already exists with a computerized data base in place. This study indicates that these centers could be utilized as a supplementary system for acute occupational illness related to chemical exposures.