Abstract

Introduction: Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable gas that is extremely soluble in water and its aqueous solution is called formalin. One of the ways in which occupational exposure of formaldehyde occurs is through formaldehyde emission from aqueous solutions such as embalming fluids. The evaporation of formaldehyde from cadavers in gross anatomy laboratories can produce high exposures to medical students and this exposure can adversely affect their health. Therefore, this study will seek to assess the level of knowledge that preclinical medical students have on formalin and the precaution taken to prevent its toxicity.

Methods: The study was carried out on 145 3rd year medical students at Copper belt university school of medicine. A questionnaire was used to assess the students and the data was analyzed with SPSS software version 21.

Results: 63.9% had poor knowledge on formalin and its effects while 34% had average knowledge and 2.1% were knowledgeable. 75.2% of the students took average precautions while only 2.8% where very cautious.

Conclusion: The majority of the respondents had poor knowledge on formalin and its effects. Furthermore a majority of the respondents took average precautions while handling the cadavers in the dissection room.

Keywords: Preclinical students; Toxicity; Flammable gas; Oxidation of alcohol; Pneumonia; Symptoms