TY - JOUR
T1 - Occupational health hazards of working in the interventional laboratory
T2 - A multisite case control study of physicians and allied staff
AU - Orme, Nicholas M.
AU - Rihal, Charanjit S.
AU - Gulati, Rajiv
AU - Holmes, David R.
AU - Lennon, Ryan J.
AU - Lewis, Bradley R.
AU - McPhail, Ian R.
AU - Thielen, Kent R.
AU - Pislaru, Sorin V.
AU - Sandhu, Gurpreet S.
AU - Singh, Mandeep
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation.
PY - 2015/3/3
Y1 - 2015/3/3
N2 - Background The occupational hazards of working in the interventional laboratory have been inadequately studied for physicians and remain unaddressed for nonphysician personnel. Objectives This study sought to determine whether the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain, cancer, and other medical conditions is higher among physicians and allied staff who work in interventional laboratories compared with employees who do not. Methods Mayo Clinic employees who work in affiliated hospitals with interventional cardiology or interventional radiology laboratories took an electronic survey. Results were stratified on the basis of self-reported occupational exposure to procedures that involve radiation. Results There were 1,543 employees (mean age 43 ± 11.3 years, 33% male) who responded to the survey (response rate of 57%), and 1,042 (67.5%) reported being involved with procedures utilizing radiation. These employees reported experiencing work-related pain more often than the control group before (54.7% vs. 44.7%; p < 0.001) and after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions, years in profession, and job description (odds ratio: 1.67; 95% confidence interval: 1.32 to 2.11; p < 0.001). Musculoskeletal pain varied significantly by job description, with the highest incidence reported by technicians (62%) and nurses (60%) followed by attending physicians (44%) and trainees (19%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in cancer prevalence between groups (9% vs. 9%; p = 0.96). Conclusions Musculoskeletal pain is more common among healthcare workers who participate in interventional procedures and is highest in nonphysician employees. The diagnosis of cancer in employees who participate in procedures that utilize radiation was not elevated when compared to controls within the same departments, although any conclusion regarding causality is limited by the cross-sectional nature of the study, as well as the low overall prevalence of malignancy in our study group.
AB - Background The occupational hazards of working in the interventional laboratory have been inadequately studied for physicians and remain unaddressed for nonphysician personnel. Objectives This study sought to determine whether the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain, cancer, and other medical conditions is higher among physicians and allied staff who work in interventional laboratories compared with employees who do not. Methods Mayo Clinic employees who work in affiliated hospitals with interventional cardiology or interventional radiology laboratories took an electronic survey. Results were stratified on the basis of self-reported occupational exposure to procedures that involve radiation. Results There were 1,543 employees (mean age 43 ± 11.3 years, 33% male) who responded to the survey (response rate of 57%), and 1,042 (67.5%) reported being involved with procedures utilizing radiation. These employees reported experiencing work-related pain more often than the control group before (54.7% vs. 44.7%; p < 0.001) and after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions, years in profession, and job description (odds ratio: 1.67; 95% confidence interval: 1.32 to 2.11; p < 0.001). Musculoskeletal pain varied significantly by job description, with the highest incidence reported by technicians (62%) and nurses (60%) followed by attending physicians (44%) and trainees (19%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in cancer prevalence between groups (9% vs. 9%; p = 0.96). Conclusions Musculoskeletal pain is more common among healthcare workers who participate in interventional procedures and is highest in nonphysician employees. The diagnosis of cancer in employees who participate in procedures that utilize radiation was not elevated when compared to controls within the same departments, although any conclusion regarding causality is limited by the cross-sectional nature of the study, as well as the low overall prevalence of malignancy in our study group.
KW - interventional laboratory
KW - musculoskeletal pain
KW - radiation safety
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jacc.2014.11.056
DO - 10.1016/j.jacc.2014.11.056
M3 - Article
C2 - 25720626
AN - SCOPUS:84923334904
SN - 0735-1097
VL - 65
SP - 820
EP - 826
JO - Journal of the American College of Cardiology
JF - Journal of the American College of Cardiology
IS - 8
ER -