title: Occupational health hazards of working in the interventional laboratory: a multisite case control study of physicians and allied staff.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The occupational hazards of working in the interventional laboratory have been inadequately studied for physicians and remain unaddressed for nonphysician personnel.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to determine whether the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain, cancer, and other medical conditions is higher among physicians and allied staff who work in interventional laboratories compared with employees who do not.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mayo Clinic employees who work in affiliated hospitals with interventional cardiology or interventional radiology laboratories took an electronic survey. Results were stratified on the basis of self-reported occupational exposure to procedures that involve radiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1,543 employees (mean age 43 ± 11.3 years, 33% male) who responded to the survey (response rate of 57%), and 1,042 (67.5%) reported being involved with procedures utilizing radiation. These employees reported experiencing work-related pain more often than the control group before (54.7% vs. 44.7%; p < 0.001) and after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions, years in profession, and job description (odds ratio: 1.67; 95% confidence interval: 1.32 to 2.11; p < 0.001). Musculoskeletal pain varied significantly by job description, with the highest incidence reported by technicians (62%) and nurses (60%) followed by attending physicians (44%) and trainees (19%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in cancer prevalence between groups (9% vs. 9%; p = 0.96).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Musculoskeletal pain is more common among healthcare workers who participate in interventional procedures and is highest in nonphysician employees. The diagnosis of cancer in employees who participate in procedures that utilize radiation was not elevated when compared to controls within the same departments, although any conclusion regarding causality is limited by the cross-sectional nature of the study, as well as the low overall prevalence of malignancy in our study group.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Nicholas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Orme
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Charanjit S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rihal
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lennon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Bradley R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Ian R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: McPhail
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Kent R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Thielen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Sorin V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Pislaru
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Gurpreet S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Electronic address: singh.mandeep@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Mandeep
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016507:Cardiology Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000379:methods; D017751:Safety Management; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: interventional laboratory; musculoskeletal pain; radiation safety