Prevention of Work-related Asthma: Study Search Results

Study Details

Prevention Level	Primary
Author	Liss
Study Year	1984
Country	USA
Molecular Weight of Agent	HMW
Category	Biological enzyme
Agent	Bacillus subtilis derived detergent enzyme
Occupation	Detergent industry workers (Includes cohort reported by Kominsky, 1981, CDC, 1981)
Outcome/Diagnosis	Enzyme sensitization
Activity Intervention	Encapsulation of enzyme (1978)
Participation Rate	13 of 14 eligible exposed subjects (Participation rate: 93%) Limitation: no report of participation rates for previously exposed and nonexposed workers
Intervention Effectiveness	Area concentrations of enzyme dust did not exceed the American College of Governmntal Industrial Hygienists's (ACGIH) threshhold limit value. Enyme-specific sensitization was detected in 3 of 12 currently exposed workers. Positive results for IgG were obtained in 4 of 12 exposed workers and 1 of 2 previously exposed workers, but in none of nonexposed workers (n=9). Personal breathing sampling indicates that these workers had high-dust exposure levels, exceeding industry guidelines.