Agents in organic dust: Criteria for a causal relationship

✍ Scribed by Dr. Kelley J. Donham; Peter S. Thorne

• Book ID: 101440727
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 414 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.4700250109

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Identification of agents of disease causation in organic dust is complicated by the fact that multiple agents may be involved, and these agents may act in a synergistic or additive fashion and cause a number of conditions resulting from chronic toxic or inflammatory effects. A new systematic approach to evaluating available data for evidence of disease‐causing agents in organic dust is proposed. It combines, in a matrix fashion, principles of Koch's postulates, River's postulates, principles of epidemiologic determinants, and weight of evidence theory. By applying these principles in a systematic fashion, the strength of the scientific evidence for a specific agent can objectively be evaluated. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.