Use of Vinegar and Water to Identify COVID-19 Cases During a Workplace Entrance Screening Protocol.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an empirical olfactory test to identify COVID-19 cases during a workplace entrance screening. METHOD: An active screening for olfactory dysfunction using water and vinegar was conducted in April to June 2020 among 4120 meat packing workers in Latin America. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the active olfactory screening examination were 41.2% and 85.3%, respectively, using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests as a gold standard. 10.6% of employees who tested positive for COVID-19 had an olfactory dysfunction as their only symptom. These individuals would not have been identified with standard workplace screening measures including temperature screening. CONCLUSION: Active screening for olfactory dysfunction may serve as a valuable tool to both identify potential COVID-19 infections and exclude those who do not have infection and should be a part of parallel algorithm combined with standard workplace entrance screening procedures.

Comparison between active (pumped) and passive (diffusive) sampling methods for formaldehyde in pathology and histology laboratories.

This study was to determine occupational exposures to formaldehyde and to compare concentrations of formaldehyde obtained by active and passive sampling methods. In one pathology and one histology laboratories, exposure measurements were collected with sets of active air samplers (Supelco LpDNPH tubes) and passive badges (ChemDisk Aldehyde Monitor 571). Sixty-six sample pairs (49 personal and 17 area) were collected and analyzed by NIOSH NMAM 2016 for active samples and OSHA Method 1007 (using the manufacturer's updated uptake rate) for passive samples. All active and passive 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) measurements showed compliance with the OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL-0.75 ppm) except for one passive measurement, whereas 78% for the active and 88% for the passive samples exceeded the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL-0.016 ppm). Overall, 73% of the passive samples showed higher concentrations than the active samples and a statistical test indicated disagreement between two methods for all data and for data without outliers. The OSHA Method cautions that passive samplers should not be used for sampling situations involving formalin solutions because of low concentration estimates in the presence of reaction products of formaldehyde and methanol (a formalin additive). However, this situation was not observed, perhaps because the formalin solutions used in these laboratories included much less methanol (3%) than those tested in the OSHA Method (up to 15%). The passive samplers in general overestimated concentrations compared to the active method, which is prudent for demonstrating compliance with an occupational exposure limit, but occasional large differences may be a result of collecting aerosolized droplets or splashes on the face of the samplers. In the situations examined in this study the passive sampler generally produces higher results than the active sampler so that a body of results from passive samplers demonstrating compliance with the OSHA PEL would be a valid conclusion. However, individual passive samples can show lower results than a paired active sampler so that a single result should be treated with caution.

Quartz in coal dust deposited on internal surface of respirable size selective samplers.

The objective of the present study is to quantify quartz mass in coal dust deposited on the internal cassette surface of respirable size-selective samplers. Coal dust was collected with four different respirable size-selective samplers (10 mm Dorr-Oliver nylon [Sensidyne, St. Petersburg, Fla.], SKC Aluminum [SKC Inc., Eighty Four, Pa.], BGI4L [BGI USA Inc., Waltham, Mass.], and GK2.69 cyclones [BGI USA Inc.]) with two different cassette types (polystyrene and static-dissipative polypropylene cassettes). The coal dust was aerosolized in a calm air chamber by using a fluidized bed aerosol generator without neutralization under the assumption that the procedure is similar to field sampling conditions. The mass of coal dust was measured gravimetrically and quartz mass was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Manual of Analytical Methods, Method 7603. The mass fractions of the total quartz sample on the internal cassette surface are significantly different between polystyrene and static-dissipative cassettes for all cyclones (p < 0.05). No consistent relationship between quartz mass on cassette internal surface and coal dust filter mass was observed. The BGI4L cyclone showed a higher (but not significantly) and the GK2.69 cyclone showed a significantly lower (p < 0.05) internal surface deposit quartz mass fraction for polystyrene cassettes compared to other cyclones. This study confirms previous observations that the interior surface deposits in polystyrene cassettes attached to cyclone pre-selectors can be a substantial part of the sample, and therefore need to be included in any analysis for accurate exposure assessment. On the other hand, the research presented here supports the position that the internal surface deposits in static-dissipative cassettes used with size-selective cyclones are negligible and that it is only necessary to analyze the filter catch.

Transection of the thoracic aorta: current treatment obstacles.

A 19-year-old female driver involved in a head on collision suffered a transection of her thoracic aorta secondary to blunt trauma. She was transported to the trauma center where a chest x-ray showed a widened mediastinum. IV contrast enhanced CT of the chest showed extravasation of contrast medium into the mediastinum. She was taken to the operating room for immediate and successful open surgical repair. Historically open repair of aortic transaction was the mainstay of treatment. Currently thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) may be a preferable method at many institutions. However the current devices are designed for aneurysmal disease and size may limit their use.