Occupational dermatoses among healthcare workers in a hospital center in Portugal

Abstract

Background: Skin diseases account for more than 35% of occupational diseases, affecting 1/1,000 workers annually. Objective: To characterize occupational dermatoses affecting hospital workers and identify possible triggers and susceptibility factors. Methods: Cross-sectional study in which we analyzed information extracted from electronic medical records of workers who performed periodic examinations in the course of one year. Results: About 3.56% of 1,741 included workers had a diagnosis of occupational dermatosis, being mainly women (76.85%). Thirty-four (54.84%) of the affected workers had irritant contact dermatitis, 17 (27.42%) latex allergy, 6 (9.68%) allergic dermatitis, and 5 (8.06%) two concomitant conditions. We found significant difference in prevalence as a function of occupational group (p=0.008), being highest for nursing assistants (5.11%). Prevalence was also higher for employees allocated to surgery departments (8.47%, p=0.001). Main triggers were skin disinfectants, latex, nitrile gloves, and prolonged contact with water (4.84%). Conclusion: The quality of the analyzed data depends on the quality of the analyzed medical records. Most subjects were nursing assistants, which fact hinders the generalization of the results. The prevalence of occupational dermatosis was just 3.56%, which might be explained by previously implemented preventive measures. The employees most frequently affected were those allocated to surgery departments and nursing assistants. Skin disinfectants were the most frequent triggers.