An Assessment of Hand Thermography in Vinyl Chloride Workers

Abstract

Since Raynaud's phenomenon is an early and integral part of the condition of acro-osteolysis in vinyl chloride workers, a survey involving 143 workers and 56 controls was carried out to assess the feasibility of using hand thermography to detect changes from the normal pattern of vascularity. From the almost identical results between the control and the exposed subjects, and between groups within the exposed population, it appears that there is no detectable difference in thermographic appearances.