Occupational asthma – an occupational disease with uncertain prognosis

Česká verzia

Authors: S. Perečinský; A. Jančová
Authors place of work: Klinika pracovného lekárstva a klinickej toxikológie, Lekárskej Fakulty Univerzity P. J. Šafárika a Univerzitnej nemocnice L. Pasteura, Košice prednosta doc. MUDr. Ľubomír Legáth, PhD.
Published in the journal: Pracov. Lék., 68, 2016, No. 4, s. 132-136.
Category: Původní práce

Summary

Introduction:
Bronchial asthma belongs to most frequent diseases with estimated 300 million patients in the world. About 2–15% of cases originate in the occupation, but the data are not homogeneous. Occupational asthma is the most frequent occupational disease of respiratory tract in industrially developed countries and the second most frequent ion the developing countries. Occupational asthma differs from the non-occupational one in various aspects, for instance in etiology, pathogenesis and diagnostic methods. The differences in clinical picture and prognosis of the disease are not clear yet. The aim of our investigation was to find out, whether are any differences in the seriousness of occupational asthma and the response to therapy as compared with the non-occupational asthma.

Methods:
The patients with acknowledged occupational asthma (27 patients) were retrospectively compared with patients with asthma of non-occupational etiology who were monitored at our workplace for other diagnoses (28 patients). Differences in seriousness of asthma among individual groups were compared according to degree pf bronchial asthma. The degree of asthma was classified as light (including an intermittent and light persisting asthma (mild asthma)), moderate asthma and severe persistent asthma. Moreover, we followed pharmacotherapy and occasional changes in treatment in the meaning of intensification. In the group of patients with occupational asthma patients with moderate asthma were predominant. The occurrence of severe persistent asthma was relatively frequent in this group. In patients with non-occupational asthma the moderate asthma was also most frequent, but severe persistent asthma was not encountered

Results:
In the group of patients with occupational asthma as well as the non-occupational asthma, patients with moderate asthma predominated. The occurrence of severe persistent asthma was relatively frequent in the occupational asthma (26%). In the patients with non-occupational asthma, however, the severe persistent asthma did not occur in any case. In the standard treatment of asthma (bronchial dilatation, inhalation corticosteroids, antileukotrienes and theophylline), both groups were not markedly different. In contrast, oral corticosteroid (15%) and biological treatment (7.5%) were applied in patients with occupational asthma only.

Conclusions:
Results of this study demonstrated a higher seriousness of occupational asthma as compared with non-occupational etiology. It is documented by relatively high frequency of severe persistent asthma in the group with occupational etiology and the need of permanent treatment with oral corticosteroids. The study made it clear that occupational asthma is an important, often progressing disease with uncertain prognosis.

Key words:
bronchial asthma – occupational asthma – severe persistent asthma

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