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Biomedical subjects

M Antti-Poika

Publications and source records attributed to M Antti-Poika.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Overall prognosis of patients with diagnosed chronic organic solvent intoxication.

The prognosis of 87 patients (mean age 38.6 years) was examined who had been diagnosed 3-9 years earlier as having chronic organic solvent intoxication due to trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, or a mixture of solvents. The methods comprised an interview, a clinical neurological examination, neurophysiological examinations (EEGs and electroneuromyographs), and a psychological examination. In order to assess the prognosis, the patient's condition at the time of diagnosis was evaluated from the hospital records, and the condition upon reexamination was compared to that at the time of diagnosis. At the time of diagnosis, 31 patients had objective clinical signs in the neurological examination, whereas the remaining 56 had only subjective symptoms and neurophysiological or psychological findings attributed to the slight solvent intoxication. Upon reexamination, 42 patients had clinical neurological signs. Based on the clinical overall evaluation, the condition of 21 patients had deteriorated during the follow-up period, the condition of 23 had improved, and that of 43 had remained unchanged. The prognoses of the results of the separate examinations correlated poorly with each other. No statistically significant correlation was found between the overall prognosis and age, sex, the duration and the level of exposure, the termination of exposure after diagnosis, the presence of other diseases, or the use of alcohol.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Prognosis of symptoms in patients with diagnosed chronic organic solvent intoxication.

The profile and prognosis of symptoms of 87 patients (mean age 38.6 years) in whom a chronic organic solvent intoxication due to tri- or perchloroethylene or mixtures of solvents had been diagnosed 3-9 years earlier were examined by means of an interview. Both at the time of diagnosis and upon reexamination, the most common symptoms were abnormal fatigue, memory disturbances and headache. Also dizziness, sleep disturbances, sensory symptoms in the extremities, mental depression, concentration difficulties, psychic irritability, emotional lability, tremor and nausea were present in over 60% of patients at the time of diagnosis. Upon reexamination, 52% of the intoxication patients with no other contributing neurological disease felt that their overall subjective condition was better than at the time of diagnosis, 21% felt that it was worse, and 27% reported no change. Most of the individual symptoms had more often changed for the better than for the worse; the differences were statistically significant with regard to abnormal fatigue, headache, dizziness, sleep disturbances, nausea, and emotional lability, whereas memory disturbances had changed in the opposite direction. Younger persons, who had had a longer follow-up period and without regular check-ups at the Institute of Occupational Health seemed to have better prognosis at the group level. Due to the great variation between the individuals, the prognosis was, however, impossible to predict in individual cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Clinical prognosis of patients with diagnosed chronic solvent intoxication.

The clinical symptoms and signs of 80 patients with chronic organic solvent intoxication were evaluated after 3-9 years (mean 5.8 years) of follow-up. Thirty-one of the patients had slight clinical neurological signs at the time of diagnosis while the rest of the patients had only neurophysiological or psychological disturbances. The most common subjective symptoms were headache, tiredness and memory disturbances. Of the clinical signs, disturbances occurred frequently in cerebellar functions, gait and station and fine motorics. In addition, psycho-organic alteration and neurasthenic signs were often found. After the follow-up clinical signs of impairment in the nervous system were present in 42 cases. At the group level, the subjective symptoms decreased during the follow-up but the objective clinical signs increased and worsened. Only the prognosis of disturbances in gait and station correlated with the duration and intensity of exposure. The present results emphasize the great difficulties arising in occupational neurology regarding chronic organic solvent intoxications. No clear-cut clinical picture exists and reliable estimation of prognosis in general cannot be made on the basis of the present knowledge.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological prognosis of diagnosed chronic organic solvent intoxication.

The psychological prognosis of 86 patients (40 men and 46 women) with previously diagnosed chronic solvent intoxication due to trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, or solvent mixtures was studied after a follow-up period (mean 5.9 years). The patients' mean age at the time of diagnosis was 38.6 years, and the mean duration of solvent exposure was 10.7 years. Tests for intelligence, short-term memory, and sensory and motor functions were applied. The group means of the patients' intellectual functions were increased after the follow-up period. At the group level, the scores on one sensorimotor task and tasks requiring manual dexterity were lower. Individual patients performed better, worse, or equally when the results of the initial examination and the reexamination were compared. The overall prognosis of psychological test results was better with a longer follow-up period and lower age. Patients who used drugs with neurological effects had a poorer overall psychological prognosis. The characteristic of solvent exposure were related only to the prognosis of some single tests for sensory and motor functions.

Adult↗