Background: Long-term occupational exposure to volatile anesthetic agents may result in various adverse health effects. Additionally, certain surgical procedures involve exposure to the other agents such as X rays. Identification of chromosome damages in peripheral blood lymphocytes serves as a useful indicator of exposure to mutagenic agents.
Methods: The frequency of chromosomal aberrations was assayed in peripheral lymphocytes obtained from 129 subjects working in operating theatres and 41 control subjects.
Results: The results show an increased rate of chromosome aberrations in the exposed subjects. The differences in frequency of chromosome aberrations between particular job tasks were not distinct. Acentric fragments in anesthesiologists and dicentrics in surgeons seem to stand out.
Conclusions: As the findings do not differ significantly between the exposed groups, one can hardly distinguish radiation and anesthetics effects from one another.