Usefulness of fingertip skin temperature for examining peripheral circulatory disturbances of vibrating tool operators.
The data on skin temperature obtained in a cold provocation test (immersing one hand in water at 10 degrees C for 10 min) were analyzed to confirm their usefulness for examining the peripheral circulatory functions of vibrating tool operators. Under room temperatures from 20 to 23 degrees C in winter, the skin temperatures after the end of provocation of the VWF (vibration-induced white finger) group were generally significantly lower than those of the age-matched non-VWF and reference groups, and the non-VWF operators with over 5,000 h of chain-saw experience showed significantly lower skin temperatures 5 and 10 min after provocation than the age-matched referents. In this study skin temperature was used as a screening test for VWF. The highest sensitivity (91.1%) was obtained at 19.0 degrees C at the fifth minute after the end of the provocation, and the highest specificity (93.3%) at 15.5 degrees C at the third minute after provocation, both the sensitivity and specificity being over 70% and the correct diagnosis rate being over 80% among the screening levels.
D003080:Cold Temperature; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009790:Occupations; D011928:Raynaud Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013577:Syndrome; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects*