A review of 132 consecutive patients referred for assessment of vibration white finger

One hundred and thirty-two subjects were referred to the Institute of Occupational Health in Birmingham over a 2 year period for assessment as to whether they met the criteria for Prescribed Disease A11 (vibration white finger). A standardized questionnaire and checklist was used, and each patient with vibration white finger was staged according to the Taylor and Pelmear (1975) classification. One hundred and sixteen subjects (88 per cent) had a clinical picture consistent with a diagnosis of vibration white finger, of which 10 did not meet the DHSS criteria for prescription. For these 116 subjects, the mean age at initial occupational exposure to vibration was 27 years. The mean age when symptoms began was 40 years. Numbness was the most common symptom accompanying the periodic blanching. More claimants reported symptoms affecting their hobbies and social life than affecting their work. The main job activities that exposed these claimants to vibration were pedestal grinding, pneumatic chipping/grinding, and hand grinding. Different systems available for staging vibration white finger have inherent limitations, but a scheme that uses standardized objective tests will make the diagnosis and assessment less reliant on subjective symptoms alone.