Biomedical subjects

G L Rosso

Publications and source records attributed to G L Rosso.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Silicotuberculosis in the elderly: report of two cases.

Silicotuberculosis is observed rarely in the current clinical practice. We present two patients (a 72-year-old man and a 84-year-old woman) who developed silicosis after having worked for several decades in the ceramics industry. In both, pulmonary tuberculosis complicated the clinical picture several years after retirement. The first subject presented a multicavitary lesion in the apex of the right lung, which subsequently evolved with fibrosis. The other developed bilateral tubercular bronchopneumonia and right tubercular pleurisy, that improved after prolonged antimycobacterial polychemotherapy. The two cases confirm that patients with silicosis are at an increased risk of developing tuberculosis, and show that, nowadays, silicotuberculosis may represent a geriatric problem. In the elderly, recognition of tuberculosis associated with silicosis is often difficult. Occupational history, radiology (conventional chest radiography and computed tomography) and microbiology (identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum and pleural exudate) are helpful for the correct diagnosis, which, in turn, is important for prognosis and treatment, as well as in relation to medico-legal issues and occupational-related compensation claims.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Mobbing: analysis of an ambulatory case load].

We present twenty outpatients (11 males; 9 females) who asked medical assistance, during the last two years, for psychopathological problems by them ascribed to "mobbing" in the work environment. Six subjects were employed in public institutions, 14 in private companies. All patients underwent occupational health specialistic visit, psychological counselling (including personality tests administration), and psychiatric evaluation. A psychopathological picture reasonably correlable to "mobbing" was diagnosed in four subjects only (20% of the cases), i.e. in a lower proportion than that reported by other investigators.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Sleep-disordered breathing and occupational medicine: considerations on three clinical cases].

Three subjects suffering from sleep-disordered breathing are described. Two of them (a 37-year-old lorry driver with obstructive sleep apnea, and a 47-year-old bricklayer with upper airway resistance syndrome) had suffered several accidents at work in few months, due to daytime sleepiness. The third patient (45-year-old) had developed (central and obstructive) sleep apnea after having been exposed to organic solvents for 15 years as a painter. In all the three subjects, polysomnography led to correct diagnosis, and nocturnal ventilotherapy with nasal CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) considerably improved the clinical picture. The cases presented illustrate the twofold interest of sleep-disordered breathing for Occupational Medicine: on the one hand, these syndromes may reduce job performance and increase the accident risk; on the other hand, they may recognize as a risk factor the occupational exposure to solvents.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Occupational risks among public safety and security forces].

The present paper tries to identify the occupational risk factors (physical, chemical, biological, psychological), variable depending on jobs and tasks, to which the heterogeneous public safety/security workers are exposed. The fight against criminality and public order maintenance imply (sometimes fatal) traumatic risks, and expose to psychophysical and sensorial tiring, unfavourable macro- and microclimatic conditions, the risk of baropathy (air navigation, underwater activities), noise (generated by firearms and several other sources), vibrations and shakings (automatic weapons, transport vehicles), the risk of electric injury, ionizing (X and gamma rays) and non-inonizing (ultraviolet rays, microwaves and radiofrequencies, electromagnetic fields) radiations. Chemical hazards include carbon monoxide and other combustion products (fires, urban traffic), substances released in chemical accidents, tear gases, lead (firing grounds, metal works, environmental pollution), solvents, lubrificants and cutting oils (mechanic repair and maintenance), laboratory materials and reagents, irritant and/or sensitizing agents contained in gloves. The main biological risks are tetanus, blood-borne diseases (viral hepatitis, AIDS), aerogenous diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, Legionnaire's disease, epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis), dog- or horse-transmitted zoonosis. Finally, emotional, psychosomatic and behavioural stress-related disorders (e.g., burn-out syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder) are typically frequent. The presence of numerous and diversified hazards among public safety/security forces imposes the adoption of occupational medicine measures, including risk assessment, health education, technical and environmental prevention, personal protective devices, sanitary surveillance and biological monitoring, clinical interventions (diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation of occupational accidents and illnesses), prompt medico-legal evaluation of occupational-related compensation claims.

Burnout, Professional↗