Background/Objectives: Chemical and carcinogenic risk in workplace are linked to an increase of the incidence of cancer in exposed workers. The aim of this observational study was to identify an association between exposure to chemical risk and changes in hematochemical parameters of workers exposed. Methods: The study examined blood count parameters performed on 4523 employees of Sapienza University of Rome from September 2019 to February 2020. A total of 1402 workers in research laboratories, exposed to chemical risk and carcinogens, was compared with a cohort of 3121 blood donors, in apparently good health, matched for age, sex, and period of blood collection. Results: Multivariate analysis demonstrated acrylamide is the most frequently associated chemical with significant changes between the groups. It is related to an increase in monocytes and MPV, a reduction of lymphocytes, platelets, and red series values, while MCH remained unchanged. Formaldehyde reveals the same changes as acrylamide, with the exception of the percentage of lymphocytes, red blood cells, and HB, which remain unchanged. Other chemicals and carcinogens show variations for few blood count parameters. Conclusions: The present study found out a significant change in blood count values in workers exposed to acrylamide and formaldehyde. It also showed an increase in the mean monocyte value in employees exposed to carcinogenic risk, compared to non-exposed, with the exception of Trypan Blue. The implementation of efficient health surveillance remains of critical importance. These data should be compared with those from follow-up studies.

Objective: The risk of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 has been rapidly increased with the circulation of concerns about variants. So, the aim of our study was to evaluate the factors that increase the risk of this reinfection in healthcare workers compared to those who have never been positive and those who have had only one positivity. Methods: A case-control study was carried out at the Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, Sapienza University of Rome, in the period between 6 March 2020 and 3 June 2022. Cases are healthcare workers who have developed a reinfection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, while controls were either healthcare workers who tested positive once or those who have never tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Results: 134 cases and 267 controls were recruited. Female gender is associated with a higher odds of developing reinfection (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.38–4.25). Moreover, moderate or high alcohol consumption is associated with higher odds of reinfection (OR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.19–1.87). Diabetes is also associated with higher odds of reinfection (OR: 3.45; 95% CI: 1.41–8.46). Finally, subjects with increased red blood cell counts have higher odds of reinfection (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.21–2.25). Conclusion: From the prevention point of view, these findings indicate that particular attention should be paid to subjects with diabetes mellitus, women and alcoholic drinkers. These results could also suggest that contact tracing represents a fundamental approach model against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, together with the health information of participants.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the methodological quality of systematic reviews published in occupational medicine journals from 2014 to 2021. Methods: Papers edited between 2014 and 2021 in the 14 open access journals with the highest impact were assessed for their quality. Studies were included if they were systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and if they were published in English. Results: The study included 335 studies. Among these, 149 were meta-analyses and 186 were systematic reviews. The values of the AMSTAR-2 score range between three and fourteen with a mean value of 9.85 (SD = 2.37). The factors that significantly and directly associate to a higher AMSTAR-2 score were impact factor (p = 0.003), number of consulted research databases (p = 0.011), declaration of PRISMA statement (p = 0.003), year of publication (p < 0.001) and performing a meta-analysis (p < 0.001).The R² values from the multivariate analysis showed that the AMSTAR-2 score could be predicted by the inclusion of these parameters by up to 23%. Conclusions: This study suggests a quality assessment methodology that could help readers in a fast identification of good systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Future studies should analyze more journals without applying language restrictions and consider a wider range of years of publication in order to give a more robust evidence for results.

The Journal of Clinical Medicine has published many papers on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and it is now clear that this is not simply a respiratory disease

Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, five variants of epidemiological interest have been identified, each of them with its pattern of symptomology and disease severity. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of vaccination status in modulating the pattern of symptomatology associated with COVID-19 infection during four waves. Methods: Data from the surveillance activity of healthcare workers were used to carry out descriptive analysis, association analyses and multivariable analysis. A synergism analysis between vaccination status and symptomatology during the waves was performed. Results: Females were found at a higher risk of developing symptoms. Four SARS-CoV-2 waves were identified. Pharyngitis and rhinitis were more frequent during the fourth wave and among vaccinated subjects while cough, fever, flu syndrome, headache, anosmia, ageusia, arthralgia/arthritis and myalgia were more frequent during the first three waves and among unvaccinated subjects. A correlation was found between vaccination and the different waves in terms of developing pharyngitis and rhinitis. Conclusion: Vaccination status and viruses’ mutations had a synergic effect in the mitigation of the symptomatology caused by SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers.