title: [Application medical history indicators and goals for the diagnosis of OSAS in a cohort of workers of the private car transportation: results of a year of health surveillance].
abstract: Even though Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is one of the main causes of daytime sleepiness with high subsequent risk for causing vehicle accidents, its evaluation is not usually included among the criteria used for the certification of job fitness among professional drivers. In order to assess the feasibility of a screening method that allows the occupational physician to identify the subjects at risk for OSAS which should undergo second level tests (cardiorespiratory monitoring), we recorded and subsequently processed appropriate subjective and objective indicators among 455 professional drivers employed in private transportation companies. Only 17 subjects (47%) out of 36 tested positive underwent cardiorespiratory monitoring (due to technical and organizational difficulties and to the poor compliance of workers). OSAS was confirmed in 15 subjects out of 17 showing an excellent positive predictive value of the screening. Risk management for OSAS is currently unavoidable yet not formally provided by law. Our results show the possibility of completing the health surveillance program with feasible and valuable screening tests. Difficulties (hardly compliant with a timely certification of the job fitness) arise instead as far as second level confirmatory procedures are involved.
authors: Dipartimento di Traumatologia, Ortopedia e Medicina del Lavoro - Università di Torino, Italy. canzio.romano@unito.it
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Romano
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Ricco
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Launaro
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ceccarelli
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Cravero
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Manassero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017149:Private Sector; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors; D014186:Transportation; D055815:Young Adult