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Published on: May 13, 2020
Occupational asthma due to chromium and nickel salts
Mar Fernández-Nieto1, Santiago Quirce, Jerónimo Carnés
1Department of Allergy, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Av. Reyes Católicos, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Background:
Exposure to chromium and nickel salts is a poorly characterized cause of occupational asthma.
Methods:
We describe four patients with work-related asthma due to metallic salts. Skin-prick tests to potassium dichromate and nickel sulfate were performed. The patients underwent methacholine inhalation tests and specific inhalation challenges (SIC) with both chromium and nickel salts.
Results:
Two patients showed positive skin-prick tests to potassium dichromate and nickel sulfate. All patients had bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, which increased 24 h after SIC with metallic salts. SIC with potassium dichromate elicited late asthmatic reactions (LAR) in two workers, one subject had an early asthmatic reaction (EAR), and another subject showed a dual asthmatic reaction (DAR). SIC with nickel sulfate induced a DAR in one subject and a late asthmatic reaction in another.
Conclusions:
Chromium and nickel salts can give rise to occupational asthma in exposed workers. The underlying mechanism may be IgE-mediated in some cases.
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