RR711 - A review of the literature published since 2004 with potential relevance in the diagnosis of HAVS
Health surveillance for those exposed to hand-arm vibration, and the diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is heavily dependent upon self-reporting of symptoms. However, this self-reporting may not be accurate for a number of reasons including the ability of individuals to recall symptoms, misunderstanding or misidentification of symptoms and fears regarding an individual's job, or ongoing litigation. Therefore techniques that could be used to obtain better information, or tests that could be applied to obtain a more accurate diagnosis may be useful in this area. In 2004 the Faculty of Occupational Medicine published an evidence based review of clinical testing and management of individuals exposed to hand transmitted vibration. More recent work, which is the subject of this report, is a short update review of the literature published in this area since 2004. It is the intention that this review is used to inform future research work in the area of assessment for HAVS.
This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
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