Occupational Medicine 1998;48:59-62
© 1998 Society of Occupational Medicine
case-report |
A cluster of haematuria cases in a pesticide-manufacturing plant
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Department of Public Health, University of Adelaide South Australia, 5005
Histopathology Department Woodville, South Australia, 5011
Renal Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woodville, South Australia, 5011
In a pesticide manufacturing and formulating facility, 10 employees out of 48 were shown to have haematuria on dipstick testing. They included seven of the 27 production workers, all of whom had worked in both of two particular areas prior to the commencement of the routine urine testing. Five of the seven production workers with haematuria underwent further investigations, and in all five the haematuria was glomerular in origin. Two underwent renal biopsy, which showed irregular attenuation of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) but no abnormality by light microscopy. Immunofluorescence studies were negative. This case series of glomerular haematuria is not readily explained by chance, false positive dipstick testing, or a recognizable non-occupational cause. Thin GBM disease, which is a benign condition, appears the likely explanation. Thin GBM disease is usually an autosomal dominant condition, but clustering of these genotypes in this small population is improbable.
Keywords Thin GBM disease; haematuria; pesticides
Received 21 October 1997
Accepted 21 July 1997
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr R. T. Gun, Senior Lecturer in Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 5005