February 2020 additions to NERDB

NERDB is the New and emerging risks database. This bibliographic database is an initiative of Nicole Palmen and Annet Lenderink with the support of Modernet and is currently powered by Obvibase.

More information on this database on the NERDB page

On the website we will publish from this month on regular updates on new disease – exposure combinations we added to the database. Currently, we have 224 entries. Ordered by year in which the abstract is published

1977	1	2010	11
1988	1	2011	10
1995	3	2012	10
1997	1	2013	13
1999	2	2014	19
2002	1	2015	27
2005	2	2016	21
2006	1	2017	35
2007	2	2018	29
2008	5	2019	23
2009	3	unknown year	6

Last new entries

Arslan Ş, Uzunhasan I, Kocas BB, Cetinkal G, Arslan Ş, Kocas C, Abaci O, Yildiz M, Celiker C, Turkoglu C. Effect of chronic toluene exposure on heart rhythm parameters. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2018 Jul;41(7):783-787. doi: 10.1111/pace.13381. Epub 2018 Jun 8.

BACKGROUND: Toluene is used extensively in various industrial processes, and an increasing number of workers are getting exposed to its vapor. Cardiac abnormalities that have been reported in association with toluene exposure (in toxic doses) are atrioventricular conduction abnormalities, sinus bradycardia, ventricular tachycardia, recurrent myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, and coronary vasospasm.

HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to investigate the effects of chronic toluene exposure on cardiac rhythm.

METHODS: In this study, 40 workers who worked at least 3 months at a furniture-varnishing atelier where toluene-containing solvents (including >90% toluene) are heavily used, and 38 control subjects working in other fields who were matched by age, sex, smoking, habits, and living accommodation were investigated. Twelve-lead surface electrocardiogram and 24-hour Holter recordings were performed to determine QRS duration, PR duration (P and R wave interval on electrocardiograms), P wave dispersion, corrected QT dispersion, and heart rate variability parameters.

RESULTS: The maximum heart rate was significantly lower in the toluene-exposed group compared to the control group (130.5 ± 15.1 vs 138.6 ± 16.0, P = 0.02). Corrected low frequency (cLF) and cLF/corrected high frequency (cHF) were also significantly lower in toluene-exposed group (43.6 ± 7.2 vs 50.7 ± 10.5, P = 0.01 and 1.4 ± 0.4 vs 2.2 ± 1.0, P < 0.01, respectively). Mean cHF, root-mean-square successive difference, and standard deviation of all five-minute NN interval means values were significantly higher in the toluene-exposed group (32.8 ± 8.1 vs 25.4 ± 8.2, P ≤ 0.01; 74.0 ± 46.1 vs 60.3 ± 59.4, P = 0.02; and 149.5 ± 77.0 vs 108.9 ± 43.2, P = 0.01, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: This study implies that chronic toluene exposure disturbs cardiac autonomy, particularly by suppressing sympathetic activity, and parasympathetic suppression also occurs with increased exposure duration. We also demonstrated that chronic toluene exposure was not associated with major cardiac arrhythmias and rhythm conduction system disorders.

Evgenia Galli‐Novak, Daniel Wilfinger, Szandra Takacs, Gernot Riesenhuber, Werner Aberer Occupational contact dermatitis caused by isopropanol containing disinfectant based on a genetic defect Contact Dermatitis Volume80, Issue5 May 2019 Pages 316-318

A 52-year-old non-atopic healthy female Caucasian developed severe hand eczema after 13 years of working as a nurse. The bouts of eczema correlated with her occupational activity. She washed and disinfected her hands at least 10 times daily. The eczema improved on days off work, disappeared on holidays lasting longer than a week, and flared up within 3 days after return to work. Several causes were considered and tested. Finally, she was diagnosed with irritant contact dermatitis, aggravated by the genetic defect. Optimization of the patient’s personal protective equipment and rehydrating therapy led to complete remission of symptoms while she continued her professional activity.

Geier J, Forkel S, Heetfeld A, Lessmann H, Buhl T. Contact allergy to 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol in a metalworking fluid. Contact Dermatitis. 2019 May;80(5):323-324. doi: 10.1111/cod.13201. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) (isobutanolamine; CAS no. 124-68-5) is used as an emulsifying agent and pH adjuster in cosmetics, as a dispersing agent in paints, and as a corrosion inhibitor with antimicrobial properties in metalworking fluids (MWFs). AMP may cause skin irritation, but it is neither classified as a sensitizer nor labeled with H317 (“May cause an allergic skin reaction”). We report a case of probable allergic contact dermatitis caused by AMP in a MWF.