Relação entre os níveis de ácido hipúrico e perda auditiva em trabalhadores expostos ao tolueno em indústria de calçados

Abstract

Introduction: In the workplace there are chemical and physical agents that can submit a worker's health at risk. These agents include intense noise and chemicals such as toluene. Often concomitantly with noise and vibrations, toluene has present a toxic potential to the auditory system. Objective: To investigate the relationship between hippuric acid levels and hearing loss in workers exposed to toluene in the shoe production segment. Methods: A survey of 32 workers from a footwear industry in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa / PB, analyzed the level of hippuric acid and the audiometry of these workers. Results: All workers presented auditory normality in both ears. Analysis of the blood and urine test results revealed normal level of creatinine, platelets and hippuric acid in all workers. However, there was a correlation with the working time (p = 0.001), thus, the longer the work time with toluene, the higher the level of hippuric acid. Conclusion: Although there is no evidence of ototoxicity in the sample analyzed, it is suggested that hippuric acid is an important biomarker for the monitoring of exposure to toluene, important for the preventive action of hearing loss due to exposure to this chemical agent.