A CASE-STUDY OF DERMATITIS BASED ON A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIANS AND INDUSTRIAL HYGIENISTS

An example of interdisciplinary problem solving by occupational health professionals is presented. Approximately one dozen employees in an a ircraft wire harness assembly line complained of dermatitis, alleging workplace exposures as causation. The plant's and consulting industria l hygienists prepared toxicology and exposure assessments for all proc ess materials, manufacturing procedures, and protective equipment used . They identified no common elements in the work environment that may have caused tile dermatitis, suggesting multiple causation and possibl e individual worker sensitivities, An investigative team composed of t he industrial hygienists and physicians in outside practice, including dermatologists and occupational medicine physicians, conducted a revi ew of plant operations and proposed that workers with dermatitis compl aints receive diagnostic medical examinations. An initial examination medically documented each worker's complaint, and a follow-up included patch testing for selected process materials. The physicians diagnose d a variety of mainly nonoccupationally induced illnesses such as fung al infections, skin cancer (solar induced), acne, etc., confirming the industrial hygienists' original assessment. One case appeared directl y work-related and to be a specific assembly component sensitivity. Al though several cases with a nonoccupational origin could have been agg ravated by working conditions, these workers showed no sensitivity to the component when patch tested.