PROCJENA VRŠNOG IZDISAJNOG PROTOKA (PEFR) NAKON RADA KOD RADNIKA U TVORNICI CEMENTA

Exposure to cement dust has been linked to lung function impairment. However, there are few such studies in Nigeria. The main aim of this study was to assess the post-work Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) of workers in a cement company. Sixty workers in a cement factory were randomly selected; thirty were regarded as workers exposed to cement dust and the remaining as unexposed workers. Both groups were non smokers, had no cardiopulmonary diseases or symptoms during the time of study. Wrights Peak Flow Meter was used for measuring lung functions before and after work for the exposed and unexposed workers. A statistical package, SPSS 16.0 was used for the analysis. There were no significant differences between the pre-work and post-work PEFR between the exposed and unexposed workers though there were differences. The exposed workers had reduced PEFR compared with their unexposed counterparts. However, there were significant differences between the pre-work and post-work PEFR for both the exposed and unexposed workers with the pre-work values lower than the post-work values. It was found that all workers in the cement industry are exposed to cement dust which reduces the lung volume and results in lung function impairment. It is suggested that efforts should be geared towards cleaner production by recognizing where and when cement dust is generated and by planning ahead to eliminate, control or recycle the dust at the source.Izloženost cementnoj prašini povezana je s oštećenjem plućne funkcije. Međutim, u Nigeriji postoji vrlo malo studija na tu temu. Glavni je cilj ove studije utvrditi najveći vršni izdisajni protok (Peak Expiratory Flow Rate, PEFR) kod radnika u tvornici cementa. Nasumično je odabrano šezdeset radnika; trideset za skupinu izloženu cementnoj prašini, a ostali za neizloženu skupinu. Obje su skupine bile nepušači, nisu imali srčanih ili plućnih bolesti niti drugih simptoma tijekom studije. Wrights Peak Flow Meter (Wright-ov mjerač vršnog protoka) upotrijebljen je za mjerenje funkcije pluća prije rada i poslije rada kod obje skupine. Za potrebe analize upotrijebljen je statistički paket SPSS 16.0. Između dviju skupina nisu utvrđene značajne razlike u mjerenjima PEFR-a prije rada i poslije njega, ali bilo je razlika. Izloženi radnici imali su nižu vrijednost PEFR-a u usporedbi s neizloženima. Međutim, nađene su značanje razlike između PEFR-a prije rada i poslije rada za obje skupine, izloženih i neizloženih, s time da su vrijednosti prije rada bile niže od vrijednosti poslije rada. Utvrđeno je da su svi radnici u proizvodnji cementa izloženi cementnoj prašini koja smanjuje obujam pluća i rezultira oštećenjem plućne funkcije. Predlaže se da se napori usmjere na postizanje čišće proizvodnje utvrđivanjem gdje i kada se cementna prašina stvara te planiranjem radnji kojima će se prašina ukloniti, nadzirati ili reciklirati na izvoru