Needlestick injuries and other occupational exposures to body fluids amongst employees and medical students of a German university: incidence and follow-up

In the present study the frequencies of immunity against hepatitis B (HB) and of potentially contaminating accidents among medical students of a Brazilian public university were evaluated. Of all the 400 students who should have been immunized, 303 (75.7%), 66.3% of whom were women, answered an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. Serum anti-HBs were determined in 205 of them and titers > 10 UI/L were considered to be protective. A total of 86.8% of students had received three doses of HB vaccine. The frequency of immunity among women (96.4%) was higher (p = 0.04) than that among men (87.7%). Among those who did not have immunity, 12/13 (92.3%) had been vaccinated before entering medical school. Only 11% of the students with complete vaccination had previously verified serological response to the vaccine. A total of 23.6% reported having been somehow exposed to blood or secretions. Among final-year students, this frequency was 45.0%, being similar among men (47.8%) and women (43.2%). Of all these accidents, 57.7% were due to body fluids coming in contact with mucosa and 42.3% due to cut and puncture accidents. The results from this study show that: 1) the frequency of immunity against HB is high among the evaluated medical students, although verification of response to vaccination is not a concern for them; 2) anti-HBs titers should be verified after complete vaccination and on a regular basis, especially by men; and 3) the frequency of potentially contaminating accidents is high.

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Occupational exposures to blood and body fluids among health care workers at university hospitals

Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo ◽

10.2298/sarh1312789m ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 141 (11-12) ◽

pp. 789-793 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ljiljana Markovic-Denic ◽

Milos Brankovic ◽

Natasa Maksimovic ◽

Bojan Jovanovic ◽

Ivana Petrovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Body Fluid ◽

Occupational Exposures ◽

Body Fluids ◽

Medical Attention ◽

Needlestick Injuries ◽

University Hospitals ◽

Care Workers

Introduction. Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids is a serious concern of health care workers and presents a major risk of transmission of infections such as human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and circumstances of occupational blood and body fluid exposures among health care workers. Methods. Cross-sectional study was conducted in three university hospitals in Belgrade. Anonymous questionnaire was used containing data about demographic characteristics, self-reported blood and body fluid exposures and circumstances of percutaneous injuries. Results. Questionnaire was filled in and returned by 216 health care workers (78.2% of nurses and 21.8% of doctors). 60.6% of participants-health care workers had sustained at least one needlestick injury during their professional practice; 25.9% of them in the last 12 months. Of occupational groups, nurses had higher risk to experience needlestick injuries than doctors (p=0.05). The majority of the exposures occurred in the operating theatre (p=0.001). Among factors contributing to the occurrence of needlestick injuries, recapping needles (p=0.003) and decontamination/cleaning instruments after surgery (p=0.001) were more frequent among nurses, while use of a needle before intervention was common among doctors (p=0.004). Only 41.2% of health care workers had reported their injuries to a supervisor in order to obtain medical attention. 50.2% of health care workers were vaccinated with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusion. There is a high rate of needlestick injuries in the daily hospital routine. Implementation of safety devices would lead to improvement in health and safety of medical staff.

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Occupational Exposures to Body Fluids among Medical Students: A Seven-Year Longitudinal Study

Annals of Internal Medicine ◽

10.7326/0003-4819-130-1-199901050-00009 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 130 (1) ◽

pp. 45 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Emilie H.S. Osborn

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Medical Students ◽

Occupational Exposures ◽

Body Fluids

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Needle Stick Injuries, Sharp Injuries and other Occupational Exposures to Blood and Body Fluids among Health Care Workers in a general hospital in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health ◽

10.3126/ijosh.v4i1.9847 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 31-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Sanjin Musa ◽

Corinne Peek-Asa ◽

Tracy Young ◽

Nina Jovanović

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Occupational Exposures ◽

Body Fluids ◽

Common Source ◽

Needlestick Injuries ◽

Operation Room ◽

Needle Stick ◽

Care Workers ◽

Needle Stick Injuries

Correction: On 2nd January 2018, the following authors were added to the online version of this article: Corinne Peek-Asa, Tracy Young and Nina Jovanović. They were always on the PDF of the article. The editor apologises for this error.Background: Professional exposures of health care workers (HCW) to potentially infective blood and body fluids presents a serious health threat, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV transmission. This study was conducted to assess the risk for and reporting of needlestick injuries, sharp injuries and other occupational exposures of health care workers in a large healthcare center in Sarajevo.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in May 2013. The study target population included all hospital health care workers who had a high potential for exposure. The estimated sample size was 48 physicians, 132 nurses/technicians and 30 auxiliary personnel. Results: During their career, 124 (63.3%) HCW reported exposures to blood and body fluids. In total, needle stick injuries (66.1%) were the most common source of exposure, followed by contact with intact skin (12.1%) and cut with sharp object (11.3%). Only 43 (35.5%) reported any of these exposures to health authorities during their career. The odds of exposure to needle stick injuries and other occupational exposures to blood and bodily fluids were significantly higher among medical nurses/techicians (AOR=4.98, 95%CI=1.52-16,1) and auxillary (AOR=4.30, 95%CI=1.07-17.34) personnel when compared to physicians. HCW in the operation room, intervention ambulance and laboratory (AOR=3.73, 95%CI=1.43-9.72) had higher odds of exposure than workers in the ambulatory departments.Conclusions: Needlestick Injuries, Sharp Injuries and other Occupational Exposures to Blood and Body Fluids among health care workers are underestimated hazard. Especialy, for HCW who work in operation room/interventional ambulance. There is a need for preventive programs for HCW and further work on the establishment of an effective surveillance system.

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Comparison of metacognitive awareness of medical students during one year follow-up

10.26226/morressier.59d4913bd462b8029238a0c8 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mihailo Tatic

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Metacognitive Awareness ◽

One Year

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Airborne occupational exposures and the risk of developing respiratory symptoms and airway obstruction in the Lifelines Cohort Study

Thorax ◽

10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-216721 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. thoraxjnl-2020-216721

Author(s):

Md Omar Faruque ◽

H Marike Boezen ◽

Hans Kromhout ◽

Roel Vermeulen ◽

Ute Bültmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Airway Obstruction ◽

Chronic Bronchitis ◽

Chronic Cough ◽

Respiratory Symptoms ◽

Occupational Exposures ◽

Control Measures ◽

High Exposure ◽

Pesticides Exposure

ObjectivesTo date, only a few studies have investigated the associations between occupational exposures and respiratory outcomes longitudinally in the general population. We investigated the associations between occupational exposures and the development of respiratory symptoms and airway obstruction in the Lifelines Cohort Study.MethodsWe included 35 739 occupationally active subjects with data on chronic cough, chronic phlegm, chronic bronchitis or airway obstruction at baseline and approximately 4.5 years follow-up. Exposures to biological dust, mineral dust, gases/fumes, pesticides, solvents and metals in the current job at baseline were estimated with the ALOHA+job-exposure matrix (JEM). Airway obstruction was defined as FEV1/FVC below the lower limit of normal. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for baseline covariates was used to investigate the associations.ResultsAt follow-up, 1888 (6.0%), 1495 (4.7%), 710 (2.5%) and 508 (4.5%) subjects had developed chronic cough, chronic phlegm, chronic bronchitis and airway obstruction, respectively. High exposure to biological dust was associated with a higher odds to develop chronic cough and chronic bronchitis. High exposure to pesticides was associated with a higher odds for the development of all respiratory symptoms and airway obstruction. In the multiple exposures analyses, only the association between pesticides exposure and respiratory symptoms remained.ConclusionsSubjects exposed to high pesticides had a higher odds to develop respiratory symptoms on average 4.5 years later. Control measures should be taken to reduce pesticides exposure among the working population to prevent respiratory symptoms and airway obstruction.

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Frequency of nonparenteral occupational exposures to blood and body fluids before and after universal precautions training

American Journal of Infection Control ◽

10.1016/s0196-6553(05)80205-6 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 280

Keyword(s):

Occupational Exposures ◽

Body Fluids ◽

Universal Precautions ◽

Before And After

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Use of Trained Mothers to Teach Interviewing Skills to First-Year Medical Students: A Follow-up Study

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.60.2.165 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 165-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paula L. Stillman ◽

Darrell L. Sabers ◽

Doris L. Redfield

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

School Curriculum ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

Feedback Session ◽

Optimal Learning ◽

Interviewing Skills ◽

One Year ◽

First Year Medical Students

This report describes an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of "trained mother" interviews early in the medical school curriculum. As an adjunct to a first-year course that teaches interviewing techniques, half of the students were exposed to an interview with one of three trained mothers early in the course. This treatment interview was immediately followed by a feedback session which concentrated on the content and process of interviewing. At the end of the course, all students had an evaluative interview. Those students who had an initial interview and feedback session with a trained mother scored significantly higher on both the content and process of their interviews than the control group. This technique is an effective and efficient way to teach interviewing skills to medical students prior to entering any of their clinical clerkships. A follow-up assessment conducted one year later indicated that one interview with a trained mother is sufficient for optimal learning and that the skills learned are retained over at least that period of time.

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