Environmental Medicine

People are increasingly concerned about potential environmental health hazards and often ask their physicians questions such as: "Is the tap water safe to drink?" "Is it safe to live near power lines?" Unfortunately, physicians often lack the information and training related to environmental health risks needed to answer such questions. This book discusses six competency based learning objectives for all medical school students, discusses the relevance of environmental health to specific courses and clerkships, and demonstrates how to integrate environmental health into the curriculum through published case studies, some of which are included in one of the book's three appendices. Also included is a guide on where to obtain additional information for treatment, referral, and follow-up for diseases with possible environmental and/or occupational origins.Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1 Introduction2 Curriculum Content3 Implementation Strategies4 Changing Medical Education5 Concluding RemarksReferencesAppendixesA: Taking an Exposure HistoryB: Medical School Courses and Clerkships: Access Points for Integrating Environmental MedicineC: Case Studies in Environmental MedicineCase Study 1: Arsenic ToxicityCase Study 2: Seasonal Arsenic Exposure from Burning Chromium-Copper-Arsenate-Treated WoodCase Study 3: Asbestos ToxicityCase Study 4: Benzene ToxicityCase Study 5: Beryllium ToxicityCase Study 6: Cadmium ToxicityCase Study 7: Fetal Death Due to Nonlethal Maternal Carbon Monoxide PoisoningCase Study 8: Carbon Tetrachloride ToxicityCase Study 9: Chlordane ToxicityCase Study 10: Chronic Reactive Airway Disease Following Acute Chlorine Gas Exposure in an Asymptomatic Atopic PatientCase Study 11: Chromium ToxicityCase Study 12: Cyanide ToxicityCase Study 13: Dioxin ToxicityCase Study 14: Ethylene/Propylene Glycol ToxicityCase Study 15: Formalin Asthma in Hospital StaffCase Study 16: Gasoline ToxicityCase Study 17: Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: A Clinical Description of 17 Patients with a Newly Recognized DiseaseCase Study 18: Lead Poisoning from Mobilization of Bone Stores During ThyrotoxicosisCase Study 19: Lead ToxicityCase Study 20: Legionaires' Disease: Description of an Epidemic of PneumoniaCase Study 21: Mercury in House Paint as a Cause of Acrodynia: Effect of Therapy with N-Acetyl-D, L-PenixillamineCase Study 22: Mercury ToxicityCase Study 23: Methanol ToxicityCase Study 24: Methylene Chloride ToxicityCase Study 25: Paint Remover HazardCase Study 26: Fatal Outcome of Methemoglobinemia in an InfantCase Study 27: Nitrate/Nitrite ToxicityCase Study 28: An Outbreak of Nitrogen Dioxide-Induced Respiratory Illness Among Ice Hockey PlayersCase Study 29: Pentachlorophenol ToxicityCase Study 30: Aldicarb Poisoning: A Case Report with Prolonged Cholinesterase Inhibition and Improvement After Pralidoxime TherapyCase Study 31: Cholinesterase-Inhibiting Pesticide ToxicityCase Study 32: Infertility in Male Pesticide WorkersCase Study 33: Pesticide Food Poisoning from Contaminated Watermelons in California, 1985Case Study 34: Poisoning of an Urban Family Due to Misapplication of Household Organophosphate and Carbamate PesticidesCase Study 35: Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) ToxicityCase Study 36: Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) ToxicityCase Study 37: Ionizing RadiationCase Study 38: Radon ToxicityCase Study 39: Residential Radon Exposure and Lung Cancer in SwedenCase Study 40: Community Oubreaks of Asthma Associated with Inhalation of Soybean DustCase Study 41: Tetrachloroethylene ToxicityCase Study 42: Toluene ToxicityCase Study 43: Occupational Asthma Due to Toluene Diisocyanate Among Velcro-like Tape ManufacturersCase Study 44: 1,1,1-TrichloroethaneCase Study 45: Trimethyltin EncephalopathyCase Study 46: Trichloroethylene ToxicityCase Study 47: Vinyl Chloride ToxicityCase Study 48: Work-Related Disorders of the Neck and Upper ExtremityCase Study 49: Contact Dermatitis in Surgeons from Methylmethacrylate Bone CementCase Study 50: Skin Lesions and Environmental Exposures: Rash DecisionsCase Study 51: Acoustic Trauma Caused by the Telephone: A Report of Two CasesCase Study 52: Behavioral and Audiologic Manifestations of Noise-Induced Hearing LossCase Study 53: Reproductive and Developmental HazardsCase Study 54: Childhood Asthma and Indoor Enviromental Risk FactorsCase Study 55: Populations at Risk From Particulate Air Pollution - United States, 1992D: Resources: Agencies, Organizations, Services, REferences, and Tables of Environmental Health HazardsE: Committee and Staff Biographies