DIENCEPHALIC SYNDROME IN TWO WORKERS EXPOSED MAINLY TO TOLUENE VAPOR

• Published in: Sangyo Igaku Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 563 - 571
• Main Authors: TAKEUCHI, Yasuhiro, NISHIZAKI, Tsuneo, TAKAGI, Susumu, MABUCHI, Chiyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Society for Occupational Health 1972
• ISSN: 0047-1879; 1881-1302
• DOI: 10.1539/joh1959.14.563

Large amount of organic solvents is used in the processing industries and most of these industries are medium or small enterprises. Therefore, health of workers working there is liable to be disturbed by organic solvents. And as the workers exposed to organic solvents usually complain of indefinite oilments, recently health of workers exposed to organic solvents became to be studied endocrinologically and neurologically. Two workers exposed to organic solvents in a paints industry consulted us and complained of dizziness, headache, tinnitus, insomnia, slight fever, disturbance of appetite, decrease of body weight, cramp of lower extremities, etc. And in our clinical examination, hypofunction of diencephalon-hypohysis-adrenal cortex system, hypesthesia on one side, continuous slight fever, slight orthostatism, abnormal EEG etc. were found and diagnosed as diencephalon syndrome. Working conditions were investigated. This paints industry is medium enterprise but the work room where the two patients were working was small and ventilated not sufficiently. And it was found that the two worker were being exposed to toluene vapor of which concentration ranged from several hundred ppm to one thausand and several hundred ppm and to smaller concentration of other organic solvents. Therefore, it was thought that the disorders of these two patients were caused chiefly by exposure to toluene vapor. The two patients were detached from the work place and treated in our hospital, but disorders of them were not rapidly improved. In view of these serious health disorders of the two workers, we think it is very important that the toxicity of organic solvents should be still more studied especially concerning the effect to the endocrine and nervous systems, and that the working conditions in work place using organic solvents should be still more improved for prevention of organic solvent poisoning.