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EinleitungNickel ist ein silberglänzendes Metall, das sich ähnlich wie Eisen polieren, schmieden, schweiûen, zu Blech walzen und zu Draht ziehen lässt. Es wird in groûen Mengen vor allem zur Galvanisierung sowie in Legierungen (Chrom-Nickel-Stahl) AbstractOccupational allergies of the immediate type due to metals, which are predominantly caused by nickel, platinum, chromium and cobalt, are rather rare. The present paper reviews the results of the evaluation of literature data concerning the occupational airway sensitization due to nickel, which is used in many different industrial fields ± especially in the electroplating industry. Cases of specific airway sensizitation caused by nickel are verified by a number of studies, predominantly case histories. In conclusion, there is sufficient evidence that nickel may cause IgEmediated hypersensitivity with typical symptoms. Serie ¹Asthma am Arbeitsplatzª 667Dieses Dokument wurde zum persönlichen Gebrauch heruntergeladen. Vervielfältigung nur mit Zustimmung des Verlages.

Objective: To compare the validity of different methods for the assessment of bronchial hyperresponsiveness used by different centers. Methods: Case series of 648 subjects referred to six pulmonary centers, all with a history of shortness of breath without airway obstruction, without use of medication that might influence the tests and without viral infections during the previous two weeks. All subjects answered a questionnaire of recent symptoms and underwent bronchial challenge with a chemical stimulus according to each center's protocol. Analysis was performed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plots using the questionnaire's answers as the gold standard. Diagnostic test sensitivities at the cut-offs for bronchial hyperresponsiveness indicated by each center were compared. Results: ROC plots showed poor validity of all tests, i.e. both acceptable sensitivity and specificity were not observed with any test. There was no obvious difference of the slope of the ROC plots between the different centers. However, maximal sensitivity differed considerably: for ªwheeze during the previous 12 monthsº, sensitivity at each center's cut-off for the definition of bronchial hyperresponsiveness varied between 0.35 and 0.73. The choice of the question used as the standard had little influence on test validity. Conclusion: Although some of the differences between centers may be explained by subject characteristics, the large differences of the test sensitivities are unacceptable and underscore the need for standardization of these tests, primarily with respect to sufficient sensitivity.

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