Cytogenetic damage in operation theatre personnel

The study in a group of 24 (11 anaesthetists and 13 support staff) was planned to ascertain the cytogenetic risk in a group of theatre personnel who worked in various city hospitals. Their exposure in terms of duration of service vary from 3-30 years. The control group (n = 24) consisted of people with different occupations matched for possible confounding variables. Cytogenetic risk was assessed in terms of chromosome aberration and sister chromatid exchange in 72-hour lymphocyte cultures. A significant increase in the percentage of chromosome aberration was observed. The sister chromatid exchange was double that of the baseline value in 20% of the exposed individuals. These findings indicate the possible risk of cytogenetic damage for staff working in unscavenged rooms.