Return to Work After Release From Prison.

Work preservation is crucial for the reintegration of ex-prisoners and the prevention of recidivism. We describe the application of an interdisciplinary diagnostic protocol (occupational health visit, psychiatric interview, psychological counselling and testing) in the case of a dairy industry worker (female, 45-year-old), released on half-freedom after approximately a year of detention in prison for attempted murder. This crime can seriously hamper job resumption.

Work resumption after invasive heart procedures, rehabilitation and ergonomic evaluation: from the hospital to the workplace.

Our Institute adopts a multidisciplinary protocol named "CardioWork" for work resumption after invasive cardiac procedures and subsequent rehabilitation: after evaluation of the cardiac functional profile, the occupational physician analyzes the work activity prior to the cardiopathological event, identifies the presumed task energy requirement (from specific, published tables), and compares it with the exercise test results. Indications regarding the timing and modality of returning to work are formulated accordingly. To verify the reliability of the indications thus provided, we carried out a clinical-functional follow-up study in the workplace with Holter electrocardiography (ECG) and armband measurement of actual energy expenditure.

Brugada syndrome and job fitness: report of three cases.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited arrhythmogenic disorder predisposing patients to a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Specific guidelines on the health surveillance of BrS workers are lacking. We report here three cases requiring assessment of specific job capacity, investigated with an interdisciplinary protocol including 24-h Holter electrocardiography with modified precordial leads, pharmacological test with ajmaline, molecular genetic analysis, electrophysiological study with ventricular stimulation, risk stratification, and occupational medicine evaluation: (1) a female 42-yr-old company manager with positive ajmaline test and CACNA1C gene mutation (judged fit for the job with limitations regarding work-related stress); (2) a male 44-yr-old welder with positive ajmaline test, SCN5A gene mutation, and associated OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome), who was advised to refrain from night shifts and driving company vehicles; (3) a male 45-yr-old electrical technician with inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmia, who was implanted with a biventricular cardioverter defibrillator, and therefore recommended to avoid exposure to electromagnetic fields and working at heights.

[The new Maugeri diagnostic protocol for work-related stress and mobbing (MASD-2)].

Occupational stress can exceed the workers' individual capacity to adapt, and cause psychopathological conditions, including adjustment disorder (AD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which medico-legal reporting is mandatory by law. Since the early 2000s, an interdisciplinary diagnostic protocol has been in use at our Institute to address patients towards an appropriate therapeutic path, in order to promote their psychological well-being and work reintegration. In 2017, the protocol was updated and expanded.

Job preservation by an office worker with idiopathic cervical dystonia: case report.

Background: Work preservation is a main goal in the rehabilitation of chronic disabling diseases. We describe the application of an interdisciplinary protocol, involving the occupational physician, the occupational therapist and the ergonomist, in the case of a 50 year-old office worker with idiopathic cervical dystonia, a movement disorder that can seriously impair work capability.

Case Report: The disease was diagnosed at age 25, and subsequently worsened.

Imaging and imagination in the diagnostics of asbestosis.

Two cases of asbestosis diagnosed on the basis of anamnestic, clinical, and instrumental criteria, were not confirmed by forensic autopsy ordered by the public prosecutor to ascertain the cause of death. The two cases demonstrate that a suggestive working history can be misleading, in the absence of clear radiological signs and histopathological findings, and that asbestosis must be diagnosed following the criteria consolidated in the scientific literature, as any diagnostic errors can have serious legal consequences.

A PPAR-α agonist protects the non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory system of guinea pig trachea from the effect of inhaled ammonium persulphate: a pilot study.

Aim of the study. Inhaled ammonium persulphate (AP) reduces non adrenergic, non cholinergic (NANC) relaxation in the guinea pig trachea, as a part of its inflammatory effects. Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) stimulation has shown anti-inflammatory properties.

Work-related post-traumatic stress disorder: report of five cases.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may arise after events involving a risk to physical integrity or to life, one's own or that of others. It is characterized by intrusive symptoms, avoidance behaviors, and hyper-excitability. Outside certain categories (e.

[Manual handling, job fitness, and musculoskeletal disorders in the Sondrio hospital (Italy) healthcare workers.].

Objectives: Musculo-skeletal disorders (MSD) are a large group of locomotor system pathologies with multifactorial etiology. Healthcare professionals are often exposed to biomechanical overload of the spine and upper limb, for example during patient handling, and represent a working population at risk.

Methods: In order to acquire further knowledge on this subject, we conducted a cross-sectional study (year 2016) among healthcare workers (excluding physicians) of the Sondrio Hospital (Italy), investigating the correlations between manual handling, MDS and job fitness.

[{Health and work after invasive heart procedures, rehabilitation and occupational evaluation]].

Unlabelled: «Health and work after invasive heart procedures, rehabilitation and occupational evaluation».

Background:: Our previous experience with the “CardioWork” protocol (activated in 2005) demonstrated the usefulness of the interaction between occupational physician and cardiologist to facilitate work resumption after invasive heart procedures and subsequent rehabilitation, adapting the work tasks of the patients to the changed physical capabilities.

Objectives:: We surveyed the health conditions and employment status of the subjects previously studied, years after their completion of the protocol in order to verify its effectiveness over a long period of time.

Falling asleep at the wheel and distracted driving. The High-Risk Professional Drivers study.

Background: Sleepiness at the wheel and driving while engaged in other activities are well known risk factors for traffic accidents. This article estimates the prevalence of these factors among Italian Professional Drivers (PDs) and their impact on reported driving mistakes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using anonymous questionnaires.

Seven years of workplace drug testing in Italy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

In Italy, Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) has been compulsory by law for specific categories of workers since 2008, offering the opportunity to compare studies conducted within a single regulatory framework. The aims of this paper are to estimate the overall prevalence of WDT positivity (at screening survey) among Italian workers and evaluate the percentage of true and false positives at confirmation analysis. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature on WDT in Italy from January 2008 to March 2015 was carried out, according to the MOOSE guidelines.

Renal cell carcinoma and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma after occupational asbestos exposure: case report.

Unlabelled: Asbestos is the main causal factor for malignant mesothelioma (MM), a relatively rare and aggressive malignancy. Some epidemiological evidence suggests a role of this agent also in the etiology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer.

Case Report: After 7 years of asbestos exposure, a 76-year-old asbestos-cement worker came to our notice with left flank pain.

Poor weight control, alcoholic beverage consumption and sudden sleep onset at the wheel among Italian truck drivers: A preliminary pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of obesity, alcoholic beverage consumption, unhealthy alcohol use and sudden sleep onset at the wheel among Italian truck drivers. In addition to prevalence rates, this study also aimed at investigating potential predictors for sudden-onset sleepiness and obesity.

Material And Methods: A sample of truck drivers was extracted from the database of the High Risk Professional Driver Study.

Return to work after coronary revascularization procedures and a patient's job satisfaction: A prospective study.

Introduction: Research into work reintegration following invasive cardiac procedures is limited. The aim of this prospective study was to explore predictors of job satisfaction among cardiac patients who have returned to work after cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Material And Methods: The study population consisted of 90 cardiac patients who have recently been treated with coronary angioplasty or heart surgery.

[Professional outcomes and psychological health after workplace bullying: an exploratory follow-up study].

Background: The literature shows that workplace bullying can lead to negative consequences for both individuals' health and professional outcomes. Most of these studies used cross-sectional designs and self-report questionnaires and further research is needed in order to explore long-term effects of workplace bullying.

Objectives: This follow-up study aimed to explore professional and psychological outcomes in a sample of subjects who required a specialized and multidisciplinary assessment for psychological problems related, in their opinion, to workplace bullying.

[Occupational risk factors and medical prevention in corrections officers].

In Italy, the Law n. 395/1990 defines the tasks and attributions of prison officers. According to the article 25 of the Legislative Decree n.

[Role of occupational rehabilitation therapy in returning to work: experimental experience].

The experimental experience is the result of combining cultural, clinical and scientific interest in rehabilitative, occupational and forensic mnedicine and in ergonomics. It deals with the rehabilitation and return at work of patients with physical disabilities caused by occupational trauma or disease. The programme described starts with a selection by INAIL and involves with an outpatient surgery inclusion.

[Discriminating capacity of the MASI-R questionnaire in the perception of work-stress].

Introduction: Workplace mobbing represents a severe type of occupational stress. The aim of this study is to evaluate the discriminant validity of the Maugeri Stress Index-Revised questionnaire (MASI-R) for the perceived work stress assessment.

Methods: A total of 105 patients were enrolled at the Occupational Medicine Uinit of our Institute for mobbing-related issues; they were compared to a control group matched for age, sex and professional category.

Imported occupational lead poisoning: report of four cases.

Background: In most industrialized countries, occupational lead poisoning has become increasingly rare, however this metal remains a serious health hazard in the rest of the world.

Report Of Cases: We observedfour male patients (aged 35 / 54 years) who had suffered recurrent abdominal pain due to recent lead exposure (for 7 to 13 months) in two Chinese battery recycling plants. On their return to Italy, three of them presented normocytic, normochromic anaemia.

Psychological and Work Stress Assessment of Patients following Angioplasty or Heart Surgery: Results of 1-year Follow-up Study.

The aim of this study was to explore changes in subjective psychological health and perceived work stress among patients who returned to work (RTW) after a multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation (CR) following cardiac interventions. A total of 108 patients were evaluated at the beginning of their CR, at 6 and 12 months after discharge. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess depression, anxiety, illness perception and work stress at each time stage.

[Occupational toxic neuropathies: morphology in peripheral nerve biopsies].

Many peripheral neuropathies are caused by the (acute or chronic) toxic action of metals, solvents, pesticides, and other occupational and environmental contaminants. These agents often reproduce the anatomoclinical pictures of hereditary (e.g.

[Malignant mesothelioma: analysis of a hospital case series].

The 2000-2010 case record of our Institute includes 77 cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) [67 pleural (40 males, 27 females; mean age 63.9 years), 9 peritoneal (7 males, 2 females; 67.9 years) and one testicular (38 year-old man)], often associated, with various degree of probability, to previous asbestos exposure (occupational or environmental).