OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES Lerman, Y., Schwarz, Y., Kaufman, G., Ganor, E., & Fireman, E. (2003). Case series: Use of induced sputum in the evaluation of occupational lung diseases. Archives of Environmen

Occupational Diseases
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Abstract
The article review has identified the main argument of the article in question which is to bring out the applications of induced sputum. Induced sputum is currently applied in occupational asthma, lung cancer, and hazardous tests. The authors look at these areas by giving several examples to support their argument. Further, the article review has also identified the inferences made by the authors in the article which include the noninvasive nature and safety of induced sputum. Additionally, the other part of the article review provides a critique of the methodology used by the authors and recommended an alternative methodology that could have been used. The methodology used in the article is not sufficient given the reliability that is required for studies. It is, therefore, essential that other studies are conducted with the use of an alternative methodology. Lastly, the areas of further research are also included in the article review, although the article authors did not include any in their paper. The future research areas will aid other scholars that are interested in carrying out further research on induced sputum.
Occupational Diseases
The main idea in the article is to identify the current applications of induced sputum, outline the methodology for IS, and recommend areas for further research through the identification of various gaps.
Additionally, the authors have made two inferences in their article. Firstly, they made the inference that induced sputum is a safe technique.

This inference is true since it is based on the information that has been presented by the authors in the article. According to Kim and Hagan (2004), induced sputum is a noninvasive technology that allows for different tests to be carried out. The noninvasive nature of the technology is also another inference that has been made by the authors of the article. In general, the inferences that have been made by the authors in the article include noninvasiveness and safety of induced sputum.
In the article “Induced Sputum in Occupational Lung Diseases,” Fireman and Lerman (2005) examine the value of induced sputum by focusing on its applications. The applications particularly outlined in the article are pulmonary occupational and environmental medicine. Currently, induced sputum is used in the treatment of occupational asthma. Unlike the current methods used to diagnose and treat occupational asthma, induced sputum is relatively cheap, and is not time-consuming. Induced sputum is, therefore, an effective way of treating occupational asthma. Secondly, induced sputum is also currently applied in interstitial lung disease. Fireman and Lerman (2005) note induced sputum is applied during the diagnosis of occupational lung cancer. IS provides sensitive as well as reliable information during the screening of lung cancer. For example, tests performed on workers that had been exposed to metals revealed that there trace particles in their samples which could help in the detection of disease. Further, induced sputum is also currently applied in unique exposure event as brought out in the article. For example, after 9/11 may of the firefighters we exposed to dust and other particles, and IS was used to determine the extent of the exposure. In general, Fireman and Lerman identify the three main areas that induced sputum is currently applied. Apart from the current application, the authors also document the methodology for induced sputum in the article.
Although I find the article reliable, I believe that there are some parts in the methodology that can be adjusted to make it more reliable. For example, in the documentation of the current applications in lung cancer, the authors only use two people and derive conclusions from them as the sample population. However, the results of the tests conducted on these two participants cannot be deemed to be conclusive because they are not representative of the population. I contemplate that more participants could have been included in the study so that the authors could derive more reliable results.
Additionally, the article also has the weakness of leaving out future recommendations based on their findings. By leaving this area out, the authors bring out the notion that they have exhausted everything to do with induced sputum, which is not the case. Providing this information could have helped other researchers that are interested in doing studies on the same. Nevertheless, given the fact that the article was published in 2005, I prospect that much has been done on the topic since that time. It is, therefore, essential to find out the current applications of induced sputum, and if anything has changed since the publication of the article.

References
Fireman, E., & Lerman, Y. (2005). Induced sputum in occupational lung diseases. Breathe, 2, 50-59.
Kim, C. K., & Hagan, J. B. (2004). Sputum tests in the diagnosis and monitoring of asthma. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 93(2), 112-123.