Abstract

NAVARRO, María C; GONZALEZ, Raquel; ALDRETE, María G  and  CARMONA, David E. Changes in the nasal mucosa of physicians due to exposure to smoke from electrocoagulation. Rev. Fac. Nac. Salud Pública [online]. 2016, vol.34, n.2, pp.135-144. ISSN 0120-386X.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rfnsp.v34n2a02.

Objective: to prove that exposure to smoke resulting from electrocoagulation causes changes in the nasal mucosa of physicians in training at a public hospital in Mexico. Methodology: a prospective fixed cohort study was conducted with a working universe consisting of 43 physicians distributed as follows: a group of 20 professionals with non-surgical specialties (thus unexposed to electrocautery smoke inhalation), and another group of 23 with surgical specialties (thus they were exposed to electrocautery smoke inhalation). They underwent two nasal biopsies: one at the beginning of the study and another after training as specialists for four years. The biopsies were reviewed by the hospital´s chief of Pathology and the incidence of changes in the nasal mucosa in both groups was calculated together with exposure index and the relative risk. Results: the biopsies performed at baseline showed that none of the specialists in training included in this study had damages in the nasal mucosa. The final biopsies, performed after the four-year medical training, had the following results: 70% of the medical residents, who were exposed, showed some histopathological changes in the nasal mucosa (hyperplasia or squamous metaplasia), whereas only 5% (1/20) of the unexposed individuals had them; the risk factor for nasal mucosa damage by exposure was estimated at 13.8. The most common lesions resulting from exposure to smoke from electrocoagulation were hyperplasia and squamous metaplasia. Conclusions: our results demonstrate that residents exposed to smoke produced by electrocoagulation have changes in the nasal mucosa.

Keywords : electrocoagulation; electrocautery smoke; in training specialty physicians; occupational health.

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