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Abstract This study was carried out from the beginning of February, 2023 to the end of March 2024. It was conducted in eight (8) surgical operations’ rooms (general surgery, ophthalmology, ENT, urology and cardiothoracic surgery) and endoscopy units (gastroenterologygynecology and orthopedic surgery) of Menoufia university hospitals.All HCWs exposed to glutaraldehyde at operations’ rooms and endoscopy units at Menoufia University Hospitals were invited to participate in this study. One hundred and ten (110) workers were recruited in the study after exclusion of non-respondents (6 workers) and workers who were employed for less than one year, having a history of chronic respiratory or dermatological conditions before working in the current work, pregnant or having chronic disease (12 workers). An equal number of health care workers (110) at Menoufia University Hospitals who were not occupationally exposed to glutaraldehyde were chosen as a control group. They were matched for age, sex and socio-demographic characteristics with the exposed group. All participants were interviewed using a predesigned questionnaire about respiratory and dermatological manifestations. Also, they were examined generally and locally for chest and skin. Spirometry was carried out for both glutaraldehyde exposed group and controls aiming to assess Spiro-metric measurements. In addition to environmental checklist to evaluate some workplace safety measures. The following results were obtained: - Respiratory manifestations as rhinitis, cough, wheezes, dyspnea and asthma were significantly more prevalent among the GA exposed HCWs than the controls. The prevalence of wheezes and asthma was significantly increased with the increase in work duration among the GA exposed HCWs. Also, there was a significant higher prevalence of cough among smoker GA exposed HCWs than non-smokers. - Regarding the mean values of spirometric measurements there were significant lower mean values of FVC%, FEV1%, PEF% and FEF25-75% among GA exposed HCWs than the control group. Abnormal spirometric measurements took obstructive, restrictive and combined patterns. - Concerning gluteraldehyde gases and vapours’ splashes exposure, the prevalence of rhinitis and cough were higher while the mean values of FVC%, FEV1%, PEF% and FEF25-75were lower in exposed HCWs. - On studying effect of ventilation the prevalence of rhinitis and dyspnea were higher also the mean values of PEF% and FEF25-75% were lower in HCWs worked at bad ventilated environment. - The mean values of FVC% and FEV1% were lower in HCWs who did not use a specific area for disinfection with limiting access - The mean values of FVC%, FEV1% and FEF25-75% were lower in HCWs who did not use closed container for GA solution. - The dermatological manifestations dermatitis, itching, dryness and color change were significantly more prevalent among GA exposed HCWs than the control group. - There were higher prevalence of dermatitis and dryness among HCWs exposed to gluteraldehyde splashes. |