Vol.4, No 1, 2007 pp. 41 - 48
UDC 667.629.2
EFFECT OF ORGANIC SOLVENTS ON THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN EXPOSED WORKERS
Violeta Stefanović1, Zoran Milošević2,3,
Miroslav Stojanović2,3, Albina Stanojević4
1Public Health Center Kuršumlija, 2Public Health Center Niš,
3Faculty of Medicine,University of Niš, 4Institute of Occupational Health of Niš
Abstract. The analysis of the working conditions in the cartridge, drying and top-coat sections of paint and lacquer industry suggests the presence of organic solvents (white spirit and toluene) that is above the maximum allowed value. The exposed group comprised 100 workers engaged in the production of paint and lacquer factory. The control comprised 55 workers with no contact with harmful chemical noxae at their workplaces. The exposed workers more frequently complained of numbness of the arm and leg, cramps in the shoulder and knee, weakness in the arm and leg than did controls. The analysis of the electromyoneurographic findings on the tibialis anterior and tibialis posterior nerve in both the exposed and control group revealed that reduction in motor and sensitive conduction velocity was more statistically significant in the exposed workers compared to controls. By analysing the values of motor conduction velocity on the tibialis anterior and tibialis posterior nerve in the exposed group relative to the length of occupational exposure to organic solvents, it was established that longer exposure at workplaces leads to a proportional and statistically significant reduction in conduction velocity. Terminal latency increased in parallel with the length of employment. Response time to acoustic and visual stimuli was significantly longer in the workers from the exposed group compared to the workers from control.
Key Words: Organic Solvents, Tibialis Anterior Nerve, Tibialis Posterior Nerve, Electromyoneurographic Findings
UTICAJ ORGANSKIH RASTVARAČA NA PERIFERNI NERVNI SISTEM EKSPONOVANIH RADNIKA
Analizom uslova radne sredine u pogonima šaržiranja, odležavanja i premaza industrije boja i lakova utvrđeno je prisustvo vajtšpirita i toluena iznad dozvoljenih vrednosti. Eksponovanu grupu je činilo 100 radnika profesionalno eksponovanih ovim noksama, dok je u kontrolnoj grupi bilo 55 radnika koji nikada u svom radnom veku nisu bili izloženi hemijskim noksama. Radnici eksponovanih grupa su se češće žalili na trnjenje ruku i nogu grčeve u ramenima i kolenima i slabost u nogama i rukama u odnosu na radnike kontrolne grupe. Elektroneurografski nalaz na n. tibialis anterior i n. tibialis posterior pokazao je znatno manje brzine motorne i senzitivne provodljivosti u eksponovanoj u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu. Registrovano je smanjenje ovih brzina sa dužinom ekspozicije noksama na radnom mestu. Terminalna latenca na ovim nervima je statistički značajno veća u eksponovanoj u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu, pri čemu njena vrednost u eksponovanoj grupi raste sa dužinom eksponovanog radnog staža. Radnici eksponovane grupe su imali statistički značajno duže vreme reakcije na akustičku i vizuelnu draž u odnosu na radnike kontrolne grupe.
Ključne reči: organski rastvarači, n. tibialis anterior, n. tibialis posterior, elektroneurografsko ispitivanje