Occupational Noise Exposure and Diabetes Risk.

Introduction: Noise is one of the most common worldwide environmental pollutants, especially in occupational fields. As a stressor, it affects not only the ear but also the entire body. Its physiological and psychological impacts have been well established in many conditions such as cardiovascular diseases. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding diabetes risk related to noises. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between occupational exposure to noise and the risk of developing diabetes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical study enrolling two groups of 151 workers each. The first group (noise exposed group: EG) included the employees of a Tunisian power plant, who worked during the day shift and had a permanent position. The second group (unexposed to noise group: NEG) included workers assigned to two academic institutions, who were randomly selected in the Occupational Medicine Department of the Farhat Hached University Hospital in Sousse, during periodical fitness to work visits. Both populations (exposed and unexposed) were matched by age and gender. Data collection was based on a preestablished questionnaire, a physical examination, a biological assessment, and a sonometric study. Results: The mean equivalent continuous sound level was 89 dB for the EG and 44.6 dB for the NEG. Diabetes was diagnosed in 24 workers from EG (15.9%) and 14 workers from NEG (9.3%), with no statistically significant difference (p=0.08). After multiple binary logistic regression, including variables of interest, noise did not appear to be associated with diabetes. Conclusion: Our results did not reveal a higher risk of developing diabetes in workers exposed to noise. Further studies assessing both level and duration of noise exposure are needed before any definitive conclusion.

Effects of music therapy on occupational stress and burn-out risk of operating room staff.

The operating theatre staff is exposed to various constraints such as excessive working hours, severe medical conditions and dreadful consequences in case of malpractice. These working conditions may lead to high and chronic levels of stress, which can interfere with medical staff well-being and patients quality of care. The aim of this study is toassess the impact of music therapy on stress levels and burnout risk on the operating room staff. This is a pre-experimental study including the operating rooms staff of urology and maxillofacial surgery in the academic hospital of Sahloul Sousse (Tunisia) over a period of six weeks. The study consisted of three phases. The first was an initial assessment of stress level with a predefined survey. The second included three music therapy sessions per day over one month. The third was an immediate stress level reassessment following the intervention. Stress levels were evaluated using the Perceived Stress Scale version PSS-10 and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The overall response rate was 73.9%.The average age of the study population was 37.8 ± 7.7 years with a female predominance (64.7%). After the music therapy program, Perceived Stress Scale average score decreased from 22 ± 8.9 to 16 ± 7.9 (p = 0.006). Concerning the burnout, only the average score of emotional exhaustion decreased significantly from 27 ± 10.8 to 19.2 ± 9.5 (p = 0.004). Music therapy is an innovative approach that seems to reduce operating theatre staff stress. It must be considered as a non pharmacological, simple, economic and non invasive preventive tool.

[Intraepithelial carcinoma and invasive carcinoma of the sclero-corneal limbus. Anatomo-clinical study apropos of 20 cases]. / Carcinome intraépithélial et carcinome invasif du limbe scléro-cornéen. Etude anatomo-clinique à propos de 20 cas.

We report a retrospective multicentric study of 20 cases of sclero-corneal limbus tumours carcinome including 9 cases of Bowen's disease and 11 squamous cell carcinomas. These cases were observed over two 10 and 20-year periods in two pathology departments. Epidemiological, clinical, pathological and therapeutic data as well as the clinical course were studied and the results compared with a large review of the literature. The mean age of the patients was 38 years for Bowen's disease and 47 for carcinoma. Two young subjects, 5 and 22 years, had xeroderma pigmentosum and had Bowen's disease and an epidermoid microinvasive carcinoma, respectively. All of the patients with Bowen's disease were men and were more than 90% of the patients with carcinoma. Tumour size was greater in carcinomas (7 to 10 mm) than in Bowen's disease (1 to 5 mm). All tumours were unilateral. Clinical manifestations included irritative or inflammatory reactions in one-fourth of the patients with Bowen's disease and in one-third of those with carcinoma. Pathology examination revealed an intact basal membrane separating healthy tissue from Bowen's lesions which showed disrupted cell architecture mostly involving the medial layers of the epithelium in 37% of the cases. All of the lesions were treated by exeresis. No recurrence has been observed after a follow-up of 1 month to 2 years for Bowen's disease and 1 year (maximum) for squamous cell carcinomas.

[Ag-NORS and non-pigmented tumors of the sclerocorneal limbus. Apropos of 20 cases]. / Ag-NORS et tumeurs non pigmentées du limbe scléro-cornéen. A propos de 20 cas.

We studied nucleolar organizers (Ag-NORS) in 20 cases of ocular limbic tumours of which 7 were Bowen disease or intraepithelial carcinoma and 13 were invasive carcinomas. The NOR-Index, reflecting cellular activity, increased from intraepithelial carcinoma (3.97) to microinvasive (5.45) and invasive carcinoma (5.81). Results of Nor-Index, reflecting proliferation, was in agreement with other technics such as immuno-labelling with Ki67 and PCNA antibodies.