[Work-related disease]

Work-related health complaints occur frequently. Occupational health departments and primary and secondary care physicians are confronted with these patients. Awareness of work-related disease is crucial. Three case histories with work-related diseases are described. The first concerned a 39-year-old woman who showed acute neurotoxicity due to inhalation of formaldehyde and methanol after opening a coffin with an embalmed corpse. Within weeks the symptoms diminished and complete recovery occurred within nine months. The second was a 61-year-old carpenter who experienced acute and chronic pulmonary and neurotoxic effects after exposure to organic solvents during ground and carpenter's work on a terrain of a former gas plant. He developed severe chronic toxic encephalopathy. The last patient was a 61-year-old man who developed acute and chronic manganese toxicity leading to inability to work while employed at a brick factory where manganese was used to colour the bricks. The acute effects subsided, but chronic neuropsychological symptoms remained.