title: Case report of occupational asthma induced by polyvinyl chloride and nickel.
abstract: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely used chemical for production of plastics. However occupational asthma (OA) caused by PVC has been reported only rarely. We report a 34-yr-old male wallpaper factory worker with OA due to PVC and nickel (Ni) whose job was mixing PVC with plasticizers. He visited the emergency room due to an asthma attack with moderate airflow obstruction and markedly increased sputum eosinophil numbers. A methacholine challenge test was positive (PC20 2.5 mg/mL). Bronchoprovocation tests with both PVC and Ni showed early and late asthmatic responses, respectively. Moreover, the fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was increased after challenge with PVC. To our knowledge, this is the first case of OA in Korea induced by exposure to both PVC and Ni. We suggest that eosinophilic inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of PVC-induced OA and that FeNO monitoring can be used for its diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ga-Won
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ga-Young
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.forename: Young-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Hae-Sim
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Young-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059366:Asthma, Occupational / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001944:Breath Tests; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D045853:Exhalation; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009532:Nickel; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010968:Plasticizers; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride
chemical_list: D010968:Plasticizers; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009532:Nickel; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride
keywords: Asthma, Occupational; Nickel; Polyvinyl Chloride