Seafarers are a special population. The issue of sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers is as old as navigation itself, and is a public health issue and a matter of concern for seafarers themselves. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in professional seafarers in the 21st century, with a view to guiding maritime physicians in their practice.
This is a Medline® and Scopus® literature review covering publications between 01/01/2000 and 31/12/2019. Out of the 224 articles, 26 were selected.
This review showed that at the beginning of the 21st century, attention has been focused mainly on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Few seroprevalence data were available. #link# Between 10% and 91% of seafarers had been tested for STIs. Several risk behaviours were identified out of 4022 seafarers surveyed, 34.3% said they had several sexual partners; out of 3722 seafarers surveyed, 19.5% engaged with sex workers; out of 3493 seafarers surveyed, 63.3% did not always use condoms, while 58.0% were aware of the relevance of this protection. There was a lot of misunderstanding about STIs 28.3% of seafarers believed that a healthy-looking person could not be HIV-positive.
The main pathology studied was HIV. Many seafarers had no specific training and only learned about STIs and HIV through media such as television. Maritime doctors could use new technologies to disseminate the right information on STI prevention.
The main pathology studied was HIV. Many seafarers had no specific training and only learned about STIs and HIV through media such as television. Maritime doctors could use new technologies to disseminate the right information on STI prevention.
Seasickness (SS) is an often hidden pathology, but one that can significantly disrupt work on board. The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of SS on the workability of workers on board vessels.
We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study conducted on 250 oceanographers in 2015 during 3 months. Based on the "Bos seasickness susceptibility questionnaire", we created a specific questionnaire with 49 questions.
151 men and 72 women responded to the survey. 188 of them (91.7% of women and 80.8% of men) report being seasick, either occasionally (69%) or at each boarding where there is female predominance (23.6% vs. 11.3% for men). The major symptoms are nausea (82%) and vomiting (56%). 60% of the workers think that SS has an influence on the success of their mission, by first affecting their mood (50%), relationship (23%), and increased risk of accidents such as falls, accidents on machines or in laboratories (40%). Antinaupathic treatments also produce deleterious effects on their workstation. Women have higher risk of developing SS (odds ratio [OR] 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-6.6; p = 0.04), more frequently taking medicines when ill (OR 4.1; 95% CI 1.27-13.2; p = 0.004) and coming with her own tablets (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-4.1; p = 0.04).
Gender is a trending factor of SS. Information on SS clinical signs, impact and therapeutics could be prone to prevent sickness and impact of it on workability.
Gender is a trending factor of SS. Information on SS clinical signs, impact and therapeutics could be prone to prevent sickness and impact of it on workability.
During ship transport of organic cargo e.g. soybeans in bulk or textiles in containers, there is a risk of pests damaging the cargo during transport as well as of unwanted global spread of organisms. Consequently, fumigation of the shipped goods is recommended. While aiming to protect the cargo from being damaged by pests during the transport time, fumigation constitutes a risk to the health of seafarers and port workers and even fatal cases are seen. Phosphine gas is increasingly applied for fumigation. Based on former experiences this article aims to describe the risk and to provide recommendations for prevention.
All reports of acute occupational exposures to phosphine in the maritime shipping industry to the Belgian Poison Centre were analysed and compared to reports in a study by ANSES (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail), which collected data from the French Poison Centres. Data were registered and analysed between the 1st of January 1999 and ting. Phosphine intoxication remains a diagnosis nor to underestimate not to miss. Further monitoring and research is needed. Preventive actions are mandatory. It is essential to implement in a strict way the existing legislation of an in-transit fumigation with phosphine. Training of the crew and good communication between the different actors during an in-transit fumigation (ship-owner, captain, fumigator, crew, longshoremen) is the key of a good prevention of accidents.
Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) constitutes the main cause of morbidity and mortality in ischemic heart failure (HF) patients. The prognostic value of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) parameters and microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) in this issue has not been identified to date. The aim herein, was to assess the usefulness of the abovementioned parameters in the prediction of MACE in HF patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction of ischemic origin.
Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), heart rate variability (HRV), MTWA and other well-known clinical parameters were analyzed in 188 ischemic HF outpatients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 50%. During https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ei1.html (14-71) months of follow-up, 56 (30%) endpoints were noted.
Univariate Cox analyses revealed BRS (but not HRV), MTWA, age, New York Heart Association III, LVEF, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator presence, use of diuretics and antiarrhythmic drugs, diabetes, and kidney insufficiency were defined as significant predictors of MACE. Pre-specified cut-off values for MACE occurrence for the aforementioned continuous parameters (age, LVEF, and BRS) were ≥ 72 years, ≤ 33%, and ≤ 3 ms/mmHg, respectively. In a multivariate Cox analysis only BRS (HR 2.97, 95% CI 1.35-6.36, p < 0.006), and LVEF (HR 1.98, 95% CI 0.61-4.52, p < 0.038) maintained statistical significance in the prediction of MACE.
BRS and LVEF are independent of other well-known clinical parameters in the prediction of MACE in patients with HF of ischemic origin and LVEF up to 50%. BRS ≤ 3 ms/mmHg and LVEF ≤ 33% identified individuals with the highest probability of MACE during the follow-up period.
BRS and LVEF are independent of other well-known clinical parameters in the prediction of MACE in patients with HF of ischemic origin and LVEF up to 50%. BRS ≤ 3 ms/mmHg and LVEF ≤ 33% identified individuals with the highest probability of MACE during the follow-up period.