Health hazard evaluation report: HETA-99-0035-2757, LDS Hospital/Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Authors
Esswein EJ; Boudreau Y; Gottschall EB; Pacheco K
Source
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 99-0035-2757, 1999 Nov; :1-12
On November 18, 1998, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request for a health hazard evaluation (HHE) from the Occupational Health Nurse at the Latter Day Saints/Intermountain Health Care hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. The HHE request stated that several nurses and nurses' aides working in the bone marrow transplant unit (BMT) had experienced allergic symptoms. These included two reports of anaphylaxis and several reports of less severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath, rashes, and itching. The health effects reported by the health care workers were thought to be associated with an activity specific to the BMT: the infusing of patients with a solution containing stem cells and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The NIOSH investigation consisted of concurrent medical and industrial hygiene evaluations on December 7, 1998, and an additional medical evaluation on February 18-19, 1999. The medical evaluation included a questionnaire, private interviews with employees, and review of medical records. The industrial hygiene evaluation consisted of air, surface, and bulk dust sampling to evaluate the presence of DMSO and latex proteins in the BMT. None of the volatile chemicals known to be present in the stem cell infusion solutions, including DMSO, were detected in the air during the administration of stem cells into a patient. Natural rubber latex was not detected in air samples. A medical records review revealed rashes and respiratory symptoms to be the most commonly reported symptoms among affected employees. Since no direct dermal contact with DMSO occurs, and no chemicals could be measured in the breathing zone of the staff nurse or in the ambient environment of the room where the infusion occurred, it is unlikely that skin and respiratory symptoms are caused by exposures from the administration of stem cells. Medical questionnaires (from 64 workers) revealed that 22% of employees reported some type of chest symptom and 50% reported skin symptoms including rashes (47%) and hives (13%). Hay fever was reported by 59% of the employees and 22% reported a physician diagnosis of asthma. Pre-existing atopy and asthma in the employees who worked in the BMT could explain the upper respiratory symptoms reported by staff in the BMT. Skin symptoms (especially hand rash) are common in the nursing profession due to frequent washing and drying of the hands and the use of gloves as a part of universal precautions.
Keywords
Region-8; Hazard-Unconfirmed; Bone-Marrow; Transplant-Unit; Nurses; Stem-cells; Latex-gloves;
Author Keywords: General Medical and Surgical Hospitals; Dimethyl Sulfoxide; DMSO; Bone Marrow Transplant Unit; Hospitals; Health Care; Nurses
CAS No.
75-18-3
Publication Date
19991101
Document Type
Field Studies; Hazard Evaluation and Technical Assistance
Fiscal Year
2000
NTIS Accession No.
PB2000-107827
NTIS Price
A03
Identifying No.
HETA-99-0035-2757
NIOSH Division
DSHEFS
SIC Code
8062
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.