scholarly journals Assessment of the state of knowledge of bloodborne infections, occupational exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis and study of exposure to potentially infectious materials among students of selected medical faculties in Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-161
Author(s):  
Robert Pleśniak ◽  
◽  
Sylwia Kocór ◽  
Katarzyna Kuźniar ◽  
Antonina Oboz-Adaś ◽  
...  

Introduction. Occupational exposure to potentially infectious material (PIM) is a serious problem for healthcare workers, including medical students. Aim. We assessed the state of knowledge about occupational exposure and frequency of exposure among students of selected medical faculties in Poland. Material and methods. Retrospective analysis with proprietary questionnaires. Results. Only 34.5% from 753 respondents correctly indicated bloodborne pathogens and 9.3% PIM. There were 84 reports of exposure, mostly during intravenous injections. 10.4% students claimed probable occupational exposure which was not reported. Most common reason for not reporting was fear of negative supervisor reaction. Conclusion. Student’s knowledge of this matter is poor. Significant percentage of students has never participated in occupational exposure training. Occupational exposure was experienced by surprisingly large number of students. Students are afraid to report the incidents. Additional education would be useful in reducing exposure risk.

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (35) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Colombo ◽  
C Ruef

A survey of hospital management plans concerning the occurrence of occupational exposure to bloodborne infections (above all, HIV) in German-speaking Switzerland was carried out by the Swiss national reference centre for bloodborne infections in Zurich, in 2000


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 184-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salisu Abubakar ◽  
Garba Iliyasu ◽  
Farouq Muhammad Dayyab ◽  
Salisu Inuwa ◽  
Rabiu Alhassan Tudun Wada ◽  
...  

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Aims/objectives: We aim to examine the utilisation and outcome of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for both HIV and hepatitis B (HBV) among HCWs. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary hospital in North-Western Nigeria. We reviewed data on HIV or HBV PEP given to HCWs between 2004 and 2016. Results: A total of 115 HCWs presented for PEP during the study period. Intern doctors were the most exposed group (40/115; 34.8%). There were 86/115 (74.8%) needle stick exposures. While 53/115 (46.1%) of the sources of exposure were HIV-positive, 9/115(7.83%) were HBV-positive. Zidovudine-based regimen (40/70) was the most commonly prescribed. No seroconversion occurred among those that completed PEP treatment and follow-up. Discussion: No seroconversion occurred among those that received either or both HIV and HBV PEP and completed PEP treatment.


Author(s):  
Paramita Sarkar ◽  
Saibendu Kumar Lahiri

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) regularly face the risk of exposure to sharp injuries and splashes as an occupational hazard, which presents major risk for acquiring blood-borne infectious agents like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which can be minimized by taking post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) measures. There are limited studies from India documenting details of PEP for HIV. This record-based study aimed to determine the occurrence of needle stick injuries (NSIs) and other high-risk occupational exposures to blood and body fluids (BBFs) among HCWs in a tertiary care hospital, Kolkata. We aimed to study details of PEP regimens used among HCWs exposed to HIV.Methods: Hospital record was analyzed from reported incidences of occupational exposures to BBFs occurred during the period of October 2013 to March 2019. Information on self-reported incidence of occupational exposure, and post-exposure management were collected.Results: A total of 105 incidents of occupational exposure were registered during study period. Interns (37, 35.2%) were most frequently exposed, followed by physicians (22, 21.0%) and nurse (21, 20.0%). 88 (83.8%) of the personnel sustained NSIs, and 17 (7.2%) had splashes to skin, mucus membranes. There was no significant difference between subjects with splashes to skin, mucus membranes and needle-stick cases regarding discontinuation of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) (11.8% versus 19.3%, p<0.548). No cases of sero-conversion were reported.Conclusions: In spite of high incidences of exposures to HIV source, good efficacy of PEP was observed with no sero-conversion. PEP for HIV was well tolerated. Study emphasized the need for creating awareness about timely reporting of incidence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Enis Uruci

Exposure prevention is the primary strategy to reduce the risk of occupational bloodborne pathogen infections in healthcare workers (HCW). HCWs should be made aware of the medicolegal and clinical relevance of reporting an exposure, and have ready access to expert consultants to receive appropriate counselling, treatment and follow-up. Vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV), and demonstration of immunisation before employment are strongly recommended. HCWs with postvaccinal anti-HBs levels, 1-2 months after vaccine completion, .or=10 mIU/mL are considered as responders. Responders are protected against HBV infection: booster doses of vaccine or periodic antibody concentration testing are not recommended. Alternative strategies to overcome non-response should be adopted. Isolated anti-HBc positive HCWs should be tested for anti-HBcIgM and HBV-DNA: if negative, anti-HBs response to vaccination can distinguish between infection (anti-HBs .or=50 mIU/ml 30 days after 1st vaccination: anamnestic response) and false positive results(anti-HBs .or=10 mUI/ml 30 days after 3rd vaccination: primary response); true positive subjects have resistance to re-infection. and do not need vaccination The management of an occupational exposure to HBV differs according to the susceptibility of the exposed HCW and the serostatus of the source. When indicated, post-exposure prophylaxis with HBV vaccine, hepatitis B immunoglobulin or both must be started as soon as possible (within 1-7 days). In the absence of prophylaxis against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, follow-up management of HCV exposures depends on whether antiviral treatment during the acute phase is chosen. Test the HCW for HCV-Ab at baseline and after 6 months; up to 12 for HIV-HCV co-infected sources. If treatment is recommended, perform ALT (amino alanine transferase) activity at baseline and monthly for 4 months after exposure, and qualitative HCV-RNA when an increase is detected. Introduction Bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) represent an important hazard for healthcare workers (HCWs) (1). In the general population, HCV prevalence varies geographically from about 0.5% in northern countries to 2% in Mediterranean countries, with some 5 million chronic carriers estimated in Europe; while HBV prevalence ranges from 0.3% to 3%. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year in Europe 304 000 HCWs are exposed to at least one percutaneous injury with a sharp object contaminated with HBV, 149 000 are exposed to HCV and 22 000 to HIV. The probability of acquiring a bloodborne infection following an occupational exposure has been estimated to be on average.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Sivananjiah Pradeep ◽  
Suman Gadicherla Raghu ◽  
Prathab A G ◽  
Banashankari G Rudresh ◽  
Radhika Kunnavil

The working environment of healthcare workers (HCW) exposes them to sharp injuries. This communication attempts to examine the injury registers, incidence of sharps injuries and blood splash exposures, and the post-exposure prophylaxis status of employees in a tertiary care hospital. Analysis included records form 54 locations of two units of a tertiary hospital attached to a Medical College. Maintenance of the injury register overall was highly satisfactory in both units. Two hundred and nine injuries were recorded from both units of the hospital. The majority of injuries (60.5%) occurred in the age group of 20-30 years with 70% among females. Waste handlers were at increased risk during waste management procedures. Thirty two percent of sharps injury injuries occurred in wards. Of the ward nursing staff, 25.3% received sharps injuries. Post-exposure prophylaxis for Hepatitis B (primary dose) was given to 25 HCWs; 11 received booster doses. The basic regimen for HIV post-exposure prophylaxis was given to 4 HCWs. Awareness about records maintenance, regular documentation, awareness and training, and implementation of appropriate preventive measures can reduce the incidence of injuries. Key words: Sharps, injury register, Health care workers (HCW),Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J L Smith ◽  
R Banerjee ◽  
D R Linkin ◽  
E P Schwab ◽  
P Saberi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is recommended to start within hours of needlestick injuries (NSIs) among healthcare workers (HCWs). Delays associated with awaiting the results of testing from the source patient (whose blood was involved in the NSI) can lead to psychological consequences for the exposed HCW as well as symptomatic toxicities from empiric PEP. Aims After developing a ‘stat’ (immediate) workflow that prioritized phlebotomy and resulting of source patient bloodwork for immediate handling and processing, we retrospectively investigated whether our new workflow had (i) decreased HIV order-result interval times for source patient HIV bloodwork and (ii) decreased the frequency of HIV PEP prescriptions being dispensed to exposed HCWs. Methods We retrospectively analysed NSI records to identify source patient HIV order-result intervals and PEP dispensing frequencies across a 6-year period (encompassing a 54-month pre-intervention period and 16-month post-intervention period). Results We identified 251 NSIs, which occurred at similar frequencies before versus after our intervention (means 3.54 NSIs and 3.75 NSIs per month, respectively). Median HIV order-result intervals decreased significantly (P &lt; 0.05) from 195 to 156 min after our intervention, while the proportion of HCWs who received one or more doses of PEP decreased significantly (P &lt; 0.001) from 50% (96/191) to 23% (14/60). Conclusion Using a ‘stat’ workflow to prioritize source patient testing after NSIs, we achieved a modest decrease in order-result intervals and a dramatic decrease in HIV PEP dispensing rates. This simple intervention may improve HCWs’ physical and psychological health during a traumatic time.


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