Open AccessA Case of Occupational Bronchial Asthma and Contact Dermatitis Caused by ortho ‐Phthalaldehyde Exposure in a Medical Worker
Author(s) -
Fujita Hiroshi,
Ogawa Masanori,
Endo Yoko
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.48.413
Subject(s) - fujita scale , welfare , medicine , occupational safety and health , family medicine , metropolitan area , political science , geography , law , pathology , meteorology
Ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) has been considered a powerful disinfectant for medical devices because it is more effective against glutaraldehyde (GA)-resistant mycobacteria, less irritating and faster-acting than GA, and does not require an activation step. Since many nurses have developed dermatitis and bronchial asthma as a result of GA exposure , the use of OPA as an alternative to GA is increasing. Although the lowest published lethal dose (LDLo ) of OPA is reported to be 7 mg/kg in the mouse, few safety tests on OPA have been performed. There have been reports of chemical burn and anaphylaxis 10) in patients which were caused by OPA. However, a company producing it advertises that OPA is much safer than GA for workers because its vapor pressure is lower and solutions of it are thinner than those of GA. In this report, we describe the first case of occupational bronchial asthma and contact dermatitis thought to be caused by OPA exposure in an endoscopy unit, and we also report the OPA concentrations measured in the air at the patient’s workplace.