Preventive use of eye drops to stabilize the tear film in video display terminal workers: preliminary notes

In this work, he presents the results of preliminary work concerning the protective use of eye drops stabilizing all three layers that make up the tear film. Infact, video display terminals (VDT) are today an essential element in almost all work environments, from offices where they represent the fundamental work tool to production environments where they are indispensable for carrying out control functions (control stations, management of quantities and flows, etc.) or design. The risk due to VDTs is one of the factors considered by Legislative Decree 81/08, therefore its assessment falls within the employer's obligations and at the same time requires health surveillance by the occupational doctor

Patogenesi della cataratta in lavoratori professionalmente esposti alle radiazioni solari in ambiente marino: valutazione clinico-statistica

Nel presente articolo scientifico l'Autore, responsabile di un Ambulatorio Universitario di Alta specializzazione nell’ambito anche della Oftalmologia Sociale e del Lavoro, rappresenta i risultati ottenuti su due popolazioni omogenee come numero, età, professione svolta, che comporta una costante esposizione alla luce solare ed habitat di vita, rappresentato da due aree geografiche simili per fattori di rischio intrinseci ed estrinseci rispetto alla patogenesi della malattia oculare in questione, il golfo di Pozzuoli (NA) e il golfo di Olbia (OT), che si trovano entrambe a 40,5 – 41 gradi di latitudine nord e tutte e due sul mare, la prima nel continente europeo e l’altra in una isola medio-grande caratterizzata per altre malattie da fattori genetici particolari.In this scientific article, the Author, responsible for a University of Higher Specialization also in the field of Oftalmology of Work and Social, represents the results obtained on two homogeneous populations such as number, age, occupation that involves constant exposure to sunlight and habitat of life, represented by two similar geographical areas for intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors with respect to the pathogenesis of the eye disease in question, the gulf of Pozzuoli (NA) and the gulf of Olbia (OT), both at 40.5 to 41 degrees north latitude both of them on the sea, the first on the european continent and the other on a medium-large island characterized by particular genetic characters for other diseases

Refractive surgery: considerations in forensic and occupational medicine

In this brief communication, we will assess what issues are most forensic inherent in refractive surgery, devoting also to the general aspects of the problem, but without going into the specifics of individual cases or individual techniques. The current practice of a pre-printed signature below, often couched in general terms or formulated in an endless list of possible complications, serves more to define this event as bureaucratic and therefore as a consensus "documented" rather than "informed". Especially when this form is signed just before surgery, with the patient ready to be operated, is constantly interpreted by the judge as an act devoid of the meaning of information that enables the patient freedom of choice, which is seen instead as a safe conduct for the surgeon to protect against future challenges

Assessment of workplace bullying in Italy by INAIL: forensic and occupational medicine considerations

The Authors, after a broad examination of the operating methods of inail (National Institute for Accident Insurance at Work) for the correct assessment and indentification of workplace bullying, carried out a comparative evaluation on the various diagnostic tests in the forensic psychiatric field for this occupational problem

Could the life of admiral Nelson in Trafalgar be saved?

The Authors, after carrying out an historical reconstruction of the war and socio-political events inherent to the Battle of Trafalgar which took place on 21 October 1805, focus and place the emphasis on the physiopathological events that led to the death of Admiral Nelson. They highlight the probable trau-matic injuries he suffered and subsequent development of the morbid mass determining an example of ex post reconstruction with profiles of forensic medicine and history of medi-cine, definitely interesting and original

Video display terminal use and limitations according to italian legislative decree: occupational and forensic perspective

In this paper, the authors conduct a review inherent in the use of video display units considering the laws currently in force in Italy, with emphasis on critical legislative and operational issues. Video Display Terminal (VDTs) are today an essential element in almost all work environments, from offices where they represent the fundamental work tool to production environments where they are indispensable for carrying out control functions (command stations, quantity management and flows, etc.) or for design work. The risk due to VDTs is one of the factors considered by the Italian Legislative Decree 81/08, so its assessment is part of the employer's obligations and at the same time requires health surveillance by the occupational physician. The new workstations have certainly not reduced visual postural demands, but they have changed them, opening the door to new disor-ders and imposing greater flexibility on the activity of the occupational physician, who often cannot limit himself to an annual inspection of the workplace. The aim of this work is to examine the current critical issues and future prospects of ergophthalmology

Cataract in professionals exposed to solar radiation: a cross sectional study

Purpose: To find out frequency of cataract in seaside workers and possible factors associated to its development. Study Design: Cross sectional observational. Place and Duration of Study: Tyrrhenian coast of Tuscany (Italy), between Rosignano Marittimo and Cecina municipalities in July 2021. Methods: Ninety-eight seaside workers were selected through convenience sampling technique. All the working subjects selected for this study had a bilateral natural vision equal to or greater than 6/10 in the anamnestic data collection, declared they had not eye diseases in the past and rarely used protective glasses during their work. Results: The mean age of 98 outdoor workers is 40. Patients with the cataract are older than people without cataract (median 41 vs 38) (p < 0.001) and have a lower visual acuity (0.6 vs 0.7) (p < 0.001); stratifying by job, refraction state and Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP), there aren’t significant association with cataract. The multivariate analysis confirms that age and visual acuity are associated with the development of the cataract (OR 1.99 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Although senile cataract is an age related disease but Visually significant cataract is seen in persons working outdoors for longer hours

Blood and sputum biomarkers in COPD and asthma: a review

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are lung inflammatory diseases that represent major public health problems. The primary, and often unique, method to evaluate lung function is spirometry, which reflects disease severity rather than disease activity. Moreover, its measurements strictly depend on patient's compliance, physician's expertise and data interpretation. The limitations of clinical history and pulmonary function tests have encouraged focusing on new possible tracers of diseases. The increase of the inflammatory response in the lungs represents an early pathological event, so biological markers related to inflammation may play key roles in earlier diagnosis, evaluation of functional impairment and prognosis. Biomarkers are measurable indicators associated with the presence and/or severity of a biological or pathogenic process, which may predict functional impairment, prognosis and response to therapy. The traditional approach based on invasive techniques (bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsies) may be replaced, at least in part, by using less invasive methods to collect specimens (sputum and blood), in which biomarkers could be measured. Proteomics, by the association between different protein profiles and pathogenic processes, is gaining an important role in pulmonary medicine allowing a more precise discrimination between patients with different outcomes and response to therapy. The aim of this review was to evaluate the use of biomarkers of airway inflammation in the context of both research and clinical practice

Effectiveness of diagnosis and early treatment of ocular motility alterations in premature infants

Objective: Prematurity often results in important developmental sequelae of brain structures, particularly those involved in processing visual information, such as the optic nerve, primary visual cortex and visuomotor integration areas. The aim of this study is to analyse the functionality of the sensory and motor pathways of the visual system by means of an orthoptic-ophthalmological assessment. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 151 records were examined, covering a period from 2000 to 2020, of preterm patients with gestational age < 32 weeks and birth weight ≤ 1,500 g up to an average age of about 8 years, referred to the Centre for Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabology of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico Umberto I, La Sapienza University of Rome, who underwent a complete ophthalmological and orthoptic assessment including the following tests measurement of ocular deviations according to the Hirschberg method, Lang I-II test, Titmus Stereotest, objective convergence assessment and ocular motility examination. Results: From the charts reviewed, 24.5% (37/151) of patients had Retinopathy of the Premature (ROP); while 38% of the whole sample (57/151) had strabismic amblyopia, of the latter only 31.5% (18/57) had ROP. In 8% of patients (12/151) the stereoscopic sense was absent, in 45% (8/151) stereopsis was gross (> 60 seconds of arc). In addition, 20.52 % (31/151) had a manifest eye deviation. 7.28% (11/151) had hypermetropia in the right eye (RE); 7.95% (12/151) hypermetropia in the left eye (OS); 3.31% of the patients (5/151) had myopia in the RE; 2% (3/151), myopia in the left eye (LE). In addition, the study of ocular motility revealed varying degrees of alteration poorly correlated with prematurity status. Conclusion: It was found that amblyopia, stereopsis and objective convergence are more affected by ROP than strabismus, refractive defects and ocular motility, indicating that premature children are particularly susceptible to ophthalmological and orthoptical alterations