RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Although many survey reports on sick house syndrome have been published, few clinical studies have reported sick building syndrome (SBS) in Japan. We examined patients with SBS-like complaints by clinical observation and made environment measurements. METHODS: The subjects of our study were 11 office workers (2 men and 9 women) who visited our hospital because of poor physical condition after the construction and painting of a fireproof vault in their office. We performed a medical interview, biochemical examinations of blood, immunological tests, pulmonary function tests, and psychological tests. The environment in the office was evaluated 3 times at 27, 55, and 132 days after the cessation of vault construction. A questionnaire survey was distributed to the workers who did not visit our hospital. RESULTS: The workers resumed work 9 days after the end of construction: Shortly after the resumption of work, most of the workers smelled a bad odor, and complained of headache, malaise, disturbed concentration, and eye irritation. Acrylic resin paint was used for painting the vault, and the concentrations of toluene, xylene, and total volatile organic compounds (T-VOC) on day 27 after painting were 2,972, 2,610, and 7,100 µg/m³, respectively. One hundred and thirty-two days after painting, the concentrations of toluene, xylene, and T-VOC decreased to unscented levels of 78, 113, and 261 µg/m³, respectively. CONCLUSION: Seven females among the eleven patients were diagnosed as having SBS on the basis of the time of the onset of the symptoms, negative results of allergy and other organic diseases, and the results of the environment measurements. From the responses of the other workers (22 men and 1 woman) to the survey questionnaire, the development and the disappearance of complaints, such as bad odor and unpleasantness, agreed with change of the level of toluene in the vault, which confirmed the validity of the SBS diagnosis.