<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><bold>Background:</bold> Hand eczema, in time of COVID-19, is one of the most frequently diagnosed skin disorders in nurses. In this study, we sought to investigate whether smoking could be an additional risk factor for hand eczema in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. <bold>Method:</bold> Using a questionnaire about smoking details and hand eczema, we conducted a study among nurses involved in the frontline management of COVID-19 patients. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were sent out. The questionnaires were anonymous and based on self-reported answers, with no clinical examination or medical data evaluation. All nurses enrolled in the study were women, working in shifts for the last three months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. <bold>Results:</bold> Two-hundred forty-seven questionnaires were accepted for the study, after eliminating non-responders and nurses without hand eczema. The majority of nurses denied smoking (87.85%) in the past and at the moment of the study. Statistics related to years of smoking and occurrence of hand eczema showed no increase in the number of cases in correlation with the number of years of smoking. Similarly, a random distribution of cases of hand eczema was observed when compared to the number of cigarettes per day. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our data does not support the hypothesis that smoking is an independent risk factor for the development of occupational hand eczema during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p></abstract>

Background: Hand eczema, in time of COVID-19, is one of the most frequently diagnosed skin disorders in nurses. In this study, we sought to investigate whether smoking could be an additional risk factor for hand eczema in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Using a questionnaire about smoking details and hand eczema, we conducted a study among nurses involved in the frontline management of COVID-19 patients. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were sent out. The questionnaires were anonymous and based on self-reported answers, with no clinical examination or medical data evaluation. All nurses enrolled in the study were women, working in shifts for the last three months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Two-hundred forty-seven questionnaires were accepted for the study, after eliminating non-responders and nurses without hand eczema. The majority of nurses denied smoking (87.85%) in the past and at the moment of the study. Statistics related to years of smoking and occurrence of hand eczema showed no increase in the number of cases in correlation with the number of years of smoking. Similarly, a random distribution of cases of hand eczema was observed when compared to the number of cigarettes per day. Conclusion: Our data does not support the hypothesis that smoking is an independent risk factor for the development of occupational hand eczema during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smoking Habit and Correlation with Hand Eczema in Healthcare Workers in the Time of COVID-19

“Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Department of Dermatology and Allergology

“George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology

Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Background: Hand eczema, in time of COVID-19, is one of the most frequently diagnosed skin disorders in nurses. In this study, we sought to investigate whether...

Smoking Habit and Correlation with Hand Eczema in Healthcare Workers in the Time of COVID-19

Published Online: Jul 17, 2021

Page range: 100 - 102

Received: Nov 02, 2020

Accepted: Dec 06, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2020-0030

Keywords
smoking, risk factor, hand eczema, COVID-19

© 2021 Anca E. Chiriac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Smoking Habit and Correlation with Hand Eczema in Healthcare Workers in the Time of COVID-19

Published Online: Jul 17, 2021

Page range: 100 - 102

Received: Nov 02, 2020

Accepted: Dec 06, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2020-0030

Keywordssmoking, risk factor, hand eczema, COVID-19

© 2021 Anca E. Chiriac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
smoking, risk factor, hand eczema, COVID-19