Biomedical subjects

E Dutkiewicz

Publications and source records attributed to E Dutkiewicz.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Response of sawmill workers to work-related airborne allergens.

The aim of this work was to determine the reactivity of sawmill workers to biological allergens associated with wood dust. Allergological examinations by skin and precipitin tests were performed in 43 workers employed in a sawmill processing coniferous wood (pine), in 90 workers employed in two sawmills processing deciduous wood (oak), and in 32 healthy urban dwellers not exposed to organic dusts (referents). The skin test was performed by the intradermal method with the saline extracts of wood dust and of the cultures of three microbial species (Rahnella sp., Brevibacterium linens and Penicillium citrinum) isolated from the air polluted with wood dust. Sawdust from pine was used for testing of the pine processing workers and referents while sawdust from oak was used for testing of the oak processing workers. Skin reactions were recorded after 20 minutes, 8 hours and 24 hours. The agar-gel test for the presence of precipitins in serum was performed with the extract of pine wood dust and extracts of 17 microbial isolates. The workers processing pine showed a very high frequency of positive skin reactions to the extract of wood dust at all time intervals, significantly greater compared to the workers processing oak and referents (p < 0.001). The early skin reactions to the extracts of dust-borne bacteria and fungi were very common among sawmills workers and showed a significant relationship with the degree of exposure. The frequency of reactions to Gram-negative bacterium Rahnella sp. was significantly greater in the pine processing workers than in the oak processing workers and referents (p < 0.001). By contrast, the oak processing workers reacted significantly more frequently to Penicillium citrinum, compared to the pine processing workers and referents (p < 0.01). These results conform to the prior study of airborne microflora in which the dominancy of Gram-negative bacteria was stated in the pine processing sawmill while mould fungi were most common in the oak processing sawmills. The antibody response of sawmill workers to work-related antigens was much weaker compared to skin reactions. As many as 41 sawmill workers reported the occurrence of work-related symptoms. A significant relationship was found between the occurrence of symptoms and frequency of allergic reactions, but only with a limited number of antigens. The obtained results suggest that early allergic reactions to coniferous wood and to microorganisms associated with wood dust are common among sawmill workers, posing a potential risk of work-related disease in this occupational group.

Actinomycetales↗

PubMed2001

Response of herb processing workers to work-related airborne allergens.

A group of 51 herb processing workers employed in a big herb processing facility located in eastern Poland were examined by the skin and precipitin tests with, respectively, 4 and 17 extracts of microorganisms associated with organic dusts. Out of this number, 32 workers were examined by the skin test with 7 extracts of selected herbs processed in the facility. All the subjects were asked about the occurrence of work-related symptoms. 32 healthy office workers were examined with microbial extracts as a reference group. The herb processing workers showed a high proportion of early skin reactions (after 20 min) to the extract of Gram-negative bacterium Alcaligenes faecalis (41.2%), significantly higher compared to the reference group (p<0.01). At all time intervals (20 min, 8 hrs, 24 hrs), the workers responded with a high frequency to the extract of Bacillus subtilis (respectively 72.5%, 64.7%, and 15.7%), significantly greater compared to the reference group (respectively p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.05). No significant differences were found between the groups of herb processing workers and referents in skin response to the extracts of Streptomyces albus and Alternaria alternata and, except for the extract of Pantoea agglomerans, in the frequency of positive precipitin reactions to microbial antigens. In the skin test with herb extracts, the highest response among workers were caused by the extracts of chamomile flowers and nettle leaves which evoked 40-65% of positive skin reactions at all time intervals. 39 out of 51 interviewed herb processing workers (76.5%) reported the occurrence of work-related general, respiratory and skin symptoms. The positive skin reactions occurred more frequently among symptomatic workers which suggests that the specific immunologic response might be implicated in etiopathogenesis of work-related symptoms in examined workers. However, in most cases the differences did not attain a significance level which indicates that there is no direct relationship between a positive immunologic response and the appearance of symptoms caused by occupational exposure to herb dust, and that most probably a considerable part of these symptoms might be also due to non-specific immunologic and/or toxic mechanisms.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Acute hepatic failure in alcoholic liver disease.

296 patients with first clinical symptoms of alcoholic liver disease were hospitalized in Probationary-Infectious Diseases Department in Kielce, between 1994-2000. In 52 (17.6%) of them, acute hepatic failure was diagnosed by detection of hepatic encephalopathy. Initial laboratory data of those patients who died (6.1%), and those who survived (11.5%) was compared. No statistically significant differences in analyzed parameters were found, except for significantly higher bilirubin concentration in the group of deceased. In both groups of patients, the frequency of hepatic failure complications, present at the admission to the hospital or those developed in the course of the disease, was also analyzed. The following complications were observed significantly more often in deceased: ascites, hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), and gastrointestinal haemorrhage (GIH), while sepsis was similarly frequent in both groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[Microflora of the air in sawmills as a potential occupational hazard: concentration and composition of microflora and immunologic reactivity of workers to microbial aeroallergens].

Microbiologial studies of the air and allergological examinations of the workers were performed in two sawmills processing deciduous wood (mainly oak) and in one sawmill processing coniferous wood (mainly pine). The concentration of microorganisms in the air was of the order 10(3)-10(4) cfu/m3. The most common organisms were corynebacteria (Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Microbacterium), spore-forming bacilli (Bacillus), Gram-negative bacteria (rahnella) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus, Penicillium). The workers responded to the extract of pine dust with much higher frequency than to the extract of oak dust. The workers processing pine were often sensitized to Rahnella while those processing oak were commonly sensitized to Penicillium. Precipitin reactions were rare and occurred only with the antigen of Rahnella.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis in grain farmers due to sensitization to Erwinia herbicola.

Two cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in grain workers are described. Both cases had evidence of sensitization to the gram-negative bacteria Erwinia herbicola as judged by skin tests, detection of serum precipitins, and inhalation challenge. E. herbicola is frequently found in the microflora of grains.

Adult↗

PubMed1980