Impact of economic incentives on costs and benefits of occupational health and safety.

The most common type of economic incentive used in the field of health and safety is experience rating of insurance premiums. The impact of this incentive on occupational health and safety (OHS) costs in the company was analysed by comparing insurance costs with other OHS costs associated with inadequate working conditions, such as accident costs borne by a company. Accident costs were estimated on the basis of research carried out in 10 companies. Insurance costs and their adjustments according to the health and safety level in a company were calculated according to an experience rating model developed in the Central Institute for Labour Protection.

[Clinical symptomatology and laboratory diagnosis of 75 cases of ethylene glycol poisonings]. / Symptomatyka kliniczna i diagnostyka laboratoryjna 75 przypadków zatrucia glikolem etylenowym.

Between 1991 and 1995 there were 75 cases of ethylene glycol poisoning (GE) hospitalised in the Clinic of Acute Poisoning of Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lódz, which comprised 0.9% of the total number of patients. The most common were cases of accidental antifreeze liquids consumption. On admittance to the clinic the state of 59% of the patients was diagnosed as severe and very severe. The main symptoms were: metabolic acidosis, which developed in 77% cases of poisoning, and its consequences--the central nervous damage and the cardiovascular system distributions. The average pH amounted to 7.06 while the base deficit to 22.42 mmol/l. Among complications the most commonly observed was the acute renal failure (84%) which developed during the first 24 hrs in all the 25 cases ending in deaths. Only in 16 out of 63 cases, in which the acute renal failure occurred, multiple hemodialyses proved necessary. Other complications accompanying the poisoning were as follows: anaemia, pneumonia, the irreversible central nervous system damage, the disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, and the hepatic damage. The comparative analysis (base on the chi2 and median test) of the deceased and cured patients has shown a significant difference (p < 0.05), among others, concerning the plasma osmolality, the frequency of the acute renal failure and the central nervous system damage occurrence.

Database on individual cases of acute poisonings.

A database on individual cases of acute poisonings has been established at the Clinic of Acute Poisonings, Institute of Occupational Medicine. About 3,000 patients yearly are admitted to the Clinic and the mean period of stay is 3-4 days. On the basis of the RDBMS Professional Oracle a method has been designed to prepare, update and select data about the Clinic's patients. The system has been established with a view of developing research on diagnostics and treatment of acute poisonings. Previously, such a study was highly time and effort consuming. Moreover the retrospective material was often inadequate for a detailed analysis. Now, the computer storage of data, makes their utilization more effective and efficient.