Stepwise health surveillance for bronchial irritability syndrome in workers at risk of occupational respiratory disease

OBJECTIVES: Questionnaires, lung function tests, and peak flow measurements are widely used in occupational health care to screen for subjects with respiratory disease. However, the diagnostic performance of these tests is often poor. Application of these tests in a stepwise manner would presumably result in a better characterisation of subjects with respiratory disease. METHODS: Cross sectional data from workers exposed to acid anhydrides, to...