Occupational Interstitial Lung Diseases.

Objective: Evidence-based diagnostic and treatment guidelines for occupationally related interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) have been developed and are summarized herein.

Methods: Comprehensive literature reviews were conducted with article abstraction, critiquing, objective grading, and evidence table compilation. A multidisciplinary expert panel drafted evidence- and consensus-based guidance.

Work-Related Asthma.

Objective: Summarize developed evidence-based diagnostic and treatment guidelines for work-related asthma (WRA).

Methods: Comprehensive literature reviews conducted with article critiquing and grading. Guidelines developed by a multidisciplinary expert panel and peer-reviewed.

Helicopter mishap attributed to single seizure.

A case report is presented of a 36-year-old U.S. Coast Guard aviator who had a single seizure while operating a helicopter on the ground.

Marine with malaria on terminal leave after deployments to Iraq and Liberia.

A case report is presented for a 22-year-old male Marine who developed clinical symptoms of malaria while on terminal leave. His exposure history has included operational deployments to Liberia and Iraq. His care was complicated by his terminal leave status, which required detailed coordination with civilian providers as well as military authorities.

Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program 1990-1999: demographic features and trends in abnormal radiographic findings.

A 10-year cross-sectional analysis was conducted for 233,353 radiographic examinations performed as part of the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program. Demographic and temporal trends in abnormal radiographs were assessed during this analysis. Abnormal radiograph prevalence increased significantly with age, and abnormal radiographs were nearly 30 times more likely to occur among participants 60 to 69 years of age, compared with participants < 20 years of age (odds ratio, 27.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps conversion rates for tuberculosis skin testing (1999-2002), with literature review.

We examined tuberculosis skin conversion rates for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel for 1999 to 2002, using information submitted to the Navy Environmental Health Center (Portsmouth, Virginia).

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in military recruits.

We conducted a tuberculosis contact investigation for a female military recruit with an unreported history of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) and subsequent recurrence. Pertinent issues included identification of likely contacts from separate training phases, uncertainty on latent MDRTB infection treatment regimens and side effects, and subsequent dispersal of the contacts after exposure.

Needle-stick epidemiology in Navy health care workers based on INJTRAK reports (2001-2002).

We provide a descriptive epidemiological analysis of needlestick injuries in Navy medical personnel from the Naval Safety Center database (INJTRAK) for a 1-year period (October 2001 through September 2002). The reports of needle sticks were reviewed on the basis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Injury and Illness Classification system for exposure code 3431 (N = 265). Most of the reported needle sticks occurred in men (60.

Disease nonbattle injury surveillance for commander, Joint Task Force Haiti, 2004.

We analyzed weekly disease nonbattle injury data from the Joint Task Force in Haiti during 2004. Surveillance found 908 initial visits during 17,938 person-weeks, for an overall rate of 5.1% (95% confidence interval, 4.

Navy physical readiness test scores and body mass index (Spring 2002 cycle).

Physical performance and risk factors from the U.S. Navy physical readiness test (PRT) were analyzed in a retrospective, cross-sectional, population-based study using data from the Spring 2002 cycle.

Hearing thresholds for U.S. Marines: comparison of aviation, combat arms, and other personnel.

Introduction: Aviation personnel in the U.S. Marine Corps are exposed to auditory trauma that may produce hearing loss in excess of personnel with other work exposures.

Trends in pleural radiographic findings in the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program (1990-1999).

The U.S. Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program is a comprehensive effort to decrease exposure to asbestos, a known health hazard.

Neoplasms in the Navy, 1998-2000: a descriptive analysis of the Physical Evaluation Board database.

Records with diagnoses for neoplasms (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes 140-239) contained in the U.S. Navy Physical Evaluation Board database for 1998 to 2000 were identified (n = 427 cases, 342 malignant and 85 benign).

Navy and Marine Corps malaria surveillance from the Navy Disease Reporting System and the Defense Medical Epidemiological Database (1997-2000).

Reported cases of malaria in the Navy and Marine Corps were reviewed from the Naval Disease Reporting System (NDRS) and the Defense Medical Epidemiological Database (DMED). For 1997 through 2000, NDRS identified 62 cases of malaria and DMED identified 162 cases. Further analysis compared NDRS and DMED information with Composite Health Care System (CHCS) records in the Hampton Roads catchment area.

Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program (1991-1999): linear regression analysis for the effect of asbestos exposure on pulmonary function testing.

The effect of asbestos exposure on pulmonary function was studied using data from the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program. Records were selected for Caucasian men from 1991 to 1999 (N = 89,318) and were analyzed using a cross-sectional, linear regression model. Dependent variables were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC), with independent continuous variables of age, height, weight, smoking, and asbestos history.

Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program (1984-1990): linear regression analysis for effect of asbestos exposure on pulmonary function testing.

This study examined records from the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program for 1984 through 1990 for Caucasian men (N = 129,598) using a population-based, cross-sectional, linear regression model. Continuous dependent variables were forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity (FVC), and continuous independent variables were age, height, weight, and tobacco use. A mid-period estimate of asbestos exposure was used because those values were reported as categorical variables.

Hearing health risk in a population of aircraft carrier flight deck personnel.

This study evaluated the risk to hearing health associated with duty on the flight deck of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. Descriptive data includes time-weighted average noise exposure and an evaluation of temporary threshold shift for a group of nonaviator flight deck personnel (FD), and a comparison of accrued permanent threshold shift among three shipboard occupational groups that had been matched for years of military service. The study participants included 76 FD personnel in a high-exposure group, 77 engineers in a moderate-exposure group, and 52 administrative personnel who were considered to have low occupational noise exposure.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among military recruits.

We report an outbreak of 235 community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections among military recruits. In this unique environment, the close contact between recruits and the physical demands of training may have contributed to the spread of MRSA. Control measures included improved hygiene and aggressive clinical treatment.