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V Murlidhar

Publications and source records attributed to V Murlidhar.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Asbestosis in an asbestos composite mill at Mumbai: a prevalence study.

BACKGROUND: Of an estimated 100,000 workers exposed to asbestos in India, less than 30 have been compensated. The reasons for such a small number are: refusal by management sponsored studies to grant medical certifications to workers suffering from occupational diseases, lack of training for doctors in diagnosis of occupational lung diseases, deliberate misdiagnosis by doctors of asbestosis as either chronic bronchitis or tuberculosis and the inherent class bias of middle class doctors against workers. The aim of the study was to identify workers suffering from Asbestosis (parenchymal and pleural non-malignant disease) among the permanent workers of the Hindustan Composites Factory and assess their disability and medically certify them, whereupon they could avail of their basic rights to obtain compensation and proper treatment. METHODS: The study was conducted by the Occupational Health and Safety Centre and the Workers' Union. Asbestosis was diagnosed if they had an occupational history of asbestos exposure for at least 15 years and showed typical radiographic findings. RESULTS: Of 232 workers in the factory, 181 participated in the survey. 22% of them had asbestosis. All the asbestos affected workers had at least 20 years of exposure. 7% had rhonchi, 34% had late basal inspiratory rates, 82% had more than 80% of Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1)/Forced Vital capacity (FVC) ratio and 66% had FVC less than 80% of the predicted value. On radiology 7% had only pleural disease, 10% had both pleural and parenchymal disease and 82% had only parenchymal disease. The association of pleural disease with chest pain was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found the prevalence of asbestosis among exposed workers to be less than that anticipated for the number of years of exposure due to "Healthy Worker Effect". We suggest that all affected asbestos workers (including those who have been forced to leave) in India be medically certified and compensated. We also recommend better control of asbestos use in India. We also implore the management to provide all information about the work process and its hazards, conduct medical checkups as mandated by law and give the medical records to the workers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Measuring trauma outcomes in India: an analysis based on TRISS methodology in a Mumbai university hospital.

BACKGROUND: In this prospective study, the TRISS methodology is used to compare trauma care at a university hospital (Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital) in Mumbai, India, with the standards reported in the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS). METHODS: Between 1 August 2001 and 31 May 2002, 1074 severely injured patients were included in the study. Survival analysis was completed for 98.3% of the patients. RESULTS: The majority of the patients were men (84%) and the average age was 31 years. 90.4% were blunt injuries, with road traffic crashes (39.2%) being the most common cause. The predicted mortality was 10.89% and the observed mortality was 21.26%. The mean Revised Trauma Score (RTS) was 6.61 +/- 1.65 and the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 16.7 +/- 10.67. The average probability of survival (Ps) was 89.14. The M and Z statistics were 0.84 and -14.1593, respectively. CONCLUSION: The injured in India were found to be older, the injuries more severe and with poorer outcomes, than in the MTOS study.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Byssinosis in a Bombay textile mill.

BACKGROUND: Till a national campaign against dust-related lung diseases was launched by a voluntary agency in Ahmedabad in 1992, government records for the 150-year-old textile industry showed no cases of byssinosis--the disabling occupational disease caused by cotton dust. The worldwide incidence of byssinosis among workers in the dusty sections of textile mills is nearly 40%. We assessed the prevalence of byssinosis in a Bombay mill so that the Employees State Insurance Scheme would start conducting medical checks in all the 55 textile mills in Bombay and officially recognize the disease. METHODS: The study was conducted under the auspices of the Occupational Health and Safety Centre, a voluntary organization. Textile workers were called to a camp conducted over 3 nights and 3 days. We asked them to answer a questionnaire and tested their lung function using a Wright's ventilometer. The diagnosis of byssinosis was made if there was a feeling of chest tightness on exposure to cotton dust, and if the FEV1 was less than 60% of the expected result or the FEV1/FVC was less than 75%. RESULTS: Of the total 1075 workers in the mill only 273 came to the camp; 54 (30%) of the 179 individuals working in the dusty sections of the mill had byssinosis. In the non-dusty departments, 16 (17%) out of the 94 workers were affected. Among those working for less than 10 years in textile mills, 24% had byssinosis and among those working for more than 30 years, 45% had the disease. CONCLUSION: We found a prevalence of byssinosis among textile workers which is similar to that reported worldwide. The disease affected those who worked in both the dusty and non-dusty sections of the mill. There are an estimated 40,000 affected workers in Bombay and we suggest that the disease be recognized by the Employees State Insurance Scheme, and that the textile mill workers be compensated if they are affected by byssinosis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Bhopal tragedy.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Accidents, Occupational↗