Formaldehyde-related clinical symptoms reported by medical students during gross anatomy cadaver dissection

Introduction. Formaldehyde is a noxious gas used as a tissue preservative of cadavers in autopsy rooms. Therefore, exposure to higher concentrations applies particularly to laboratory staff, anatomists and medical students. Prolonged exposure to formaldehyde is associated with clinical complications.

Objective. To assess whether exposure to repeated inhalation of low concentrations of formaldehyde (FA) experienced during a gross anatomy course triggers subjective clinical symptoms in medical students.

Material and methods. All 198 first-year medical students of the Medical University of Lublin, Poland (28% with allergy history and 72% without allergy history; 69% male and 31% female) responded to a questionnaire concerning their subjective FA-related clinical symptoms. Differences in proportions of experienced symptoms between allergic vs. nonallergic, and female vs. males were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results. Even though formaldehyde concentrations in the gross anatomy laboratory were relatively low (0.47–0.57 mg/m3), medical students experienced various reactions (lacrimation in 85.9%, red eyes, dry and itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, and headache in > 50% of students, cough in 44%, and dry throat or throat irritation in 42% of students). Among students with a history of allergy, eye, nose, skin and respiratory system symptoms occurred more frequently in comparison to nonallergic students. Female individuals demonstrated higher sensitivity to FA exposure.

Conclusions. Exposure to formaldehyde may result in development of clinical symptoms in medical students. Particularly unpleasant symptoms may be experienced by individuals with allergy history. It is necessary to decrease formaldehyde concentrations in the anatomy dissection laboratory.