Taking an occupational history: its value in avoiding a misdiagnosis

ABSTRACT

Taking an occupational history is crucial for identifying an occupational disease; avoiding a misdiagnosis and directing the further medical and administrative management of a patient who also happens to be a worker. There are two components of an occupational history; a set of screening questions and a set of in-depth questions which can provide information on the occupational relatedness of a disease. Occupational presentations such as polymer fume fever and its consequences as presented in this paper can be missed in the absence of an occupational history. Reinforcing training in occupational history-taking teaching in undergraduate medical training programmes can contribute to improved diagnosis of occupational disease in clinical practice; and consequent improvements in the detection and reporting of occupational diseases