ABSTRACT
Background: Hand eczema, in time of COVID-19, is one of the most frequently diagnosed skin disorders in nurses. In this study, we sought to investigate whether smoking could be an additional risk factor for hand eczema in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Using a questionnaire about smoking details and hand eczema, we conducted a study among nurses involved in the frontline management of COVID-19 patients. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were sent out. The questionnaires were anonymous and based on self-reported answers, with no clinical examination or medical data evaluation. All nurses enrolled in the study were women, working in shifts for the last three months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Two-hundred forty-seven questionnaires were accepted for the study, after eliminating non-responders and nurses without hand eczema. The majority of nurses denied smoking (87.85%) in the past and at the moment of the study. Statistics related to years of smoking and occurrence of hand eczema showed no increase in the number of cases in correlation with the number of years of smoking. Similarly, a random distribution of cases of hand eczema was observed when compared to the number of cigarettes per day. Conclusion: Our data does not support the hypothesis that smoking is an independent risk factor for the development of occupational hand eczema during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this work was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of self-reported, work-related occupational hand eczema, targeting personnel working in hospitals and ambulatory units throughout Romania. A standardized questionnaire was specifically addressed to healthcare professionals from different medical fields. Out of 245 healthcar e providers who took part in the survey, 161 (65.71%) were nurses, and 235 (95.92) women, which confirms that women are prevalent in this working sector. The latex powder-gloves were the most frequently implied trigger factor, 223 (91.02%) responders reported the daily use of protective gloves and 37 (15.12%) of them have reported the protective gloves as a possible cause for skin lesions. Also, an important part of responders testified a prolonged contact with water, which confirms the importance of wet environment in inducing occupational hand eczema. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of powder free latex gloves was performed in order to establish a correlation between the elemental composition and risk factors for hand eczema. The results support the implication of Cd and Ca, which were detected on the inner faces of the gloves, to the toxicity to the skin.