Pesticide patch test series for the assessment of allergic contact dermatitis among banana plantation workers in panama.

BACKGROUND: Irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) are frequent among agricultural workers and require targeted interventions. Patch testing is necessary for differential diagnosis, but patch testing with pesticides is uncommon. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the frequency of ACD and sensitization to pesticides among highly exposed banana plantation workers. METHODS: Frequently and recently used pesticides on banana plantations in Divala, Panama, were documented. A pesticide patch test tray specific for this population was prepared. A structured interview was administered to 366 participants, followed by a complete skin examination. The pesticide patch test series, as well as a standard patch test series, was applied to 37 workers with dermatoses likely to be pesticide related and to 23 control workers without dermatoses. RESULTS: The pesticide patch tests identified 15 cases (41%) of ACD (20 positive reactions) among the 37 workers diagnosed with pesticide dermatosis. Three controls had allergic reactions to pesticides (4 positive reactions). The pesticides were carbaryl (5 cases), benomyl (4 cases), ethoprophos (3), chlorothalonil (2), imazalil (2), glyphosate (2), thiabendazole (2), chlorpyrifos (1), oxyfluorfen (1), propiconazole (1), and tridemorph (1). Ethoprophos and tridemorph had not been previously identified as sensitizers. Thus, the prevalence of ACD was 0.03 (15 of 366). On the basis of observed prevalences of positive patch-test reactions among the subgroups with and without dermatoses, we estimated that > or = 16% of the entire population may be sensitized to pesticides. CONCLUSION: Sensitization to pesticides among banana plantation workers is a frequent occupational health problem. Pesticide patch test trays should be used in assessing skin diseases in highly exposed workers.

[DNA damage in female workers exposed to pesticides in banana plantations at Limón, Costa Rica]. / Daño del ADN en trabajadoras bananeras expuestas a plaguicidas en Limón, Costa Rica.

Pesticide use in Costa Rica is very high and all year round. A high percentage of what is sprayed remains in the environment and in the living organisms around. This situation brings contamination and health problems to people in contact with them. The onset of adverse effects may be in the short or the long term, and symptoms vary widely, from headaches to cancer. Much research in this area has been devoted to acute or chronic effects, and not until recently to the genotoxic effect of pesticides. This study evaluated the genotoxic effect of pesticides used in banana packing activities, using the comet assay (single cell electrophoresis) as the biological marker in lymphocytes. This was a case-control double blind study of 30 exposed women from 15 banana farms and 28 women not occupationally exposed to pesticides from the same geographic area. Results show damage to single stranded DNA after working from 5 to 15 years (R2 = 0.12). In Costa Rica we do not have an historical record of the kind of pesticides used in banana farms, the period of time and for how long were they used. This prevented further analysis concerning dose, frequency of exposure and use of new or old kind of pesticides in the farms in relation to DNA damage. The comet assay is of value in the genetic monitoring of pesticide exposed populations.

Thiabendazole for the treatment of strongyloidiasis in patients with hematologic malignancies.

A total of 21 patients with hematologic malignancies were given thiabendazole for treatment of strongyloidiasis. Fifteen patients were cured. Since there were no relapses, it is unlikely that maintenance therapy has a role in the management of strongyloidiasis in this population of patients.

[Cholestatic hepatitis ascribed to the use of thiabendazole]. / Cholestatische hepatitis toegeschreven aan het gebruik van tiabendazol.

Two women, aged 27 and 42 years, both born in Surinam and both suffering from heterozygous thalassemia, developed cholestatic hepatitis three and two weeks respectively after the start of a two-day course of thiabendazol for Strongyloides stercoralis infection. Other causes of cholestasis were unlikely in view of the results of blood tests, echography and the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography. The symptoms persisted for several months, and the liver function disorders for 7 years and one year, respectively. The incidence of thiabendazole-induced cholestatic hepatitis is unknown, but probably low.

Medicamentos ectoparasiticidas: risco e benefício / Ectoparasiticides drugs: risk and benefit

A escolha de produtos ectoparasiticidas para uso humano deve obedecer certos critérios, principalmente envolvendo a relaçäo risco-benefício, desde que muitos säo substâncias capazes de destruir formas de vida. As relaçöes adversas, os efeitos colaterais, a toxicidade, aliados a fatores como formulaçöes, interaçäo medicamentosa, incompatibilidades, freqüência das aplicaçöes e outras vias de penetraçäo orgânica devem ser avaliados. O trabalho se propöe a atualizar e revisar os dados farmacológicos e toxicológicos dos ectoparasiticidas mais freqüentemente utilizados para adequar a sua escolha

Tratamiento de las Parasitosis del aparato digestivo. / Treatment in parasitic of digestive sistem.

Se hace una actualización referente a los tratamientos delas parasitosis del aparato digestivo, poniendo énfasis en las características de los más importantes antiparasitarios y señalando los esquemas de tratamiento establecidos para cada uno de ellos.

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of thiabendazole, pyrantel and mebendazole in the treatment of necatoriasis in children]. / Evaluación de la efectividad del tiabendazol, pirantel y mebendazol en el tratamiento de la necatoriasis en los niños.

A study was made of 48 patients from the different departments of the Hospital del Niño, DIF, in which hookworm eggs were demonstrated by qualitative coproparasitoscopic study (CPS). During the study, quantitative CPS was practiced on them by Stoll's dilution and the Harada-Mori technique, for the identification of the hookworm larvae. They were divided into three groups: A, B and C (16 patients in each group); the study was single-blind. The effectiveness of the evaluated drugs was based on the disappearance or diminution of hookworms eggs in the CPS (Stoll) practiced 2 weeks after the drug treatment had finished. The work was done with patients parasitized by Necator americanus (verified by the Harada-Mori technique). The A group was given pyrantel pamoate; the B group, thiabendazole and the C group, mebendazole. The results obtained were statistically processed by means of X2 proportions. There was no significant difference between the three groups when a light to moderate necatoriasis was treated; when a massive infection was involved, there was a significant difference and it was found that the best drug was pyrantel pamoate administered at the dose of 20 mg/kg/day/3 days. There were few side effects in the three groups, but they were not sufficient to cause suspension of the treatment. The cheapest drug was thiabendazole.