Vasovagal Syncope at Work: A Narrative Review for an Occupational Management Proposal.

Syncope is a complex clinical manifestation that presents considerable diagnostic difficulties and, consequently, numerous critical issues regarding fitness for work, especially for high-risk tasks. To date, it is impossible to quantify the exact impact of syncope on work and public safety since it is highly improbable to identify loss of consciousness as the fundamental cause of work or driving-related accidents, especially fatal injuries. Working at high-risk jobs such as public transport operators, in high elevations, or with exposure to moving parts, construction equipment, fireworks, or explosives demand attention and total awareness.

Smoking Habits and Workplace Health Promotion among University Students in Southern Italy: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Investigation.

The study aimed to investigate the tobacco smoking prevalence, habits and awareness among a cohort of healthcare students from a university hospital in southern Italy and the associations with socio-demographic determinants. A secondary outcome was to estimate the educational needs to receive information on smoking-related risk factors. Five hundred and forty-nine students completed a self-administered questionnaire (180 male and 369 female, average age 25 yo, ±5.

Tuberculosis Infection Screening in 5468 Italian Healthcare Students: Investigation of a Borderline Zone Value for the QFT-Test.

Healthcare workers are at an increased risk of contracting infection. Tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) represent the available tests most used for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Different borderline zones have been proposed for defining conversions and reversions to improve the interpretation of the IGRA test results as part of serial testing.

Healthcare Workers and Manual Patient Handling: A Pilot Study for Interdisciplinary Training.

Manual patient handling (MPH) is a major occupational risk in healthcare settings. The aim of this study was to propose an MPH training model involving interdisciplinary aspects. A scheduled training program was performed with 60 healthcare workers (HCWs) from a hospital in Naples, Italy, providing training divided into three sections (occupational health-section one; physical therapy-section two; psychosocial section-section three) and lasting six hours.

HBV vaccination status among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: The development of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the improvements in strategy prevention during the last decades.

Aim: To evaluate HBV-related vaccine status in healthcare workers (HCW) exposed to biological risk.

Methods: The serum markers for HBV were collected from HCWs in two tertiary care hospitals in Naples (Italy).

Erratum to: Vaccination against hepatitis b virus: are Italian medical students sufficiently protected after the public vaccination programme?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s12995-015-0083-4.].

[Professional divers: analysis of critical issues and proposal of a health protocol for work fitness].

Introduction: From many years now, thanks to the development of modern diving techniques, there has been a rapid spread of diving activities everywhere. In fact, divers are ever more numerous both among the Armed Forces and civilians who dive for work, like fishing, biological research and archeology.

Aim: The aim of the study was to propose a health protocol for work fitness of professional divers keeping in mind the peculiar work activity, existing Italian legislation that is almost out of date and the technical and scientific evolution in this occupational field.

Vaccination against hepatitis b virus: are Italian medical students sufficiently protected after the public vaccination programme?

Background: The development of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been a major achievement in terms of prevention of HBV infection. For the present study, we analysed the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among healthcare students with different working seniorities.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the Medical School of the Second University of Naples was conducted between September 2012 and December 2014.

The long-term immunogenicity of recombinant hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine: contribution of universal HBV vaccination in Italy.

Background: Universal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination of newborn babies was introduced in Italy in 1991 and was extended to 12-years-old children for the first 12 years of application so as to cover in a dozen years the Italian population aged 0-24 years. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with long-term immunogenicity against HBV 17 years after primary vaccination in students attending medical schools in Naples, Italy.

Methods: 1,704 students attending the school of medicine, schools of the healthcare professions, or postgraduate medical schools of the Second University of Naples, Italy, from September 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled in this study.