Symptoms in health personnel exposed to disinfectants

While the biocidal efficacy of disinfectants available for use in health facilities has been widely investigated, little attention has been paid to their potential side effects to users.

To describe the occurrence of symptoms attributable to occupational exposure to disinfectants with emphasis on gluteraldehyde.

Exploratory cross-sectional study.

Kenyan health facilities.

One hundred and fifteen members of various health cadres.

All the respondents reported using disinfectants. Glutaraldehyde-based preparations, either alone or alongside other agents (excluding hypochlorite), were used by 52.2% of the respondents. Hypochlorite-based preparations, either alone or alongside other agents, were used by 18.3%, while cetrimide preparations and ethanol alongside other agents were used by 13% of the respondents. More than sixty two per cent of the respondents had suffered one or more symptoms during the use of these disinfectants. Among the users of glutaraldehyde preparations, the most common symptoms reported were sneezing (38.3%), headache (31.7%), watering of eyes (25%), skin rash (10%) and chronic cough (8.3%). Among users of hypochlorite and cetrimide preparations, the most commonly reported symptoms were sneezing, headaches and watering of eyes.

Our findings suggest possible occupation-related adverse reactions that may be attributed to the use of disinfectants. Awareness of these potential hazards needs to be increased among users and efforts made to introduce techniques to minimise exposure to liquid and vapourised disinfectants. Further studies involving larger sample sizes, are necessary to unequivocally apportion the various symptoms to specific disinfecting agents.