摘要：An Investigation of Symptoms In Ethylene Oxide Sterilization Workers in Hospitals: Katsuya YAHATA, et al. The Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, The University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan —We investigated the frequency of particular symptoms reported during daily sterilization work with ethylene oxide (EO). By means of a self-administered questionnaire we received 287 replies from 66 institutions where sterilization work was performed, (148 used EO, and 139 used other substances). In these two groups, complaints such as stiff shoulders (19.2%), low back pain (13.9%), and skin burning (13.2%) were frequently reported. When we compared the EO sterilization workers with other workers by means of Fisher''s exact test, significant differences were observed among the cases of diarrhea, headache, dullness, sore throat and eye irritation. We also investigated some safety and health management factors that suggested correlations with the manifestation of these symptoms. (J Occup Health 2001; 43: 180-184)
