The epinet data of four Indian hospitals on incidence of exposure of healthcare workers to blood and body fluid: A multicentric prospective analysis.

Background : Sharps injury (SI) and blood and body fluid exposure are occupational hazards to healthcare workers (HCWs). Although data from the developed countries have shown the enormity of the problem, data from developing countries, such as India, arelacking. Purpose : The purpose of this study was to cumulate data from fourmajor hospitals in India and analyze the incidence of SI and blood and body fluid exposure in HCWs. Materials and Methods : Four Indian hospitals (hospital A, B, C and D) from major cities of India participated in this multicentric study. Data ranging from 6 to 26 months were collected from these hospitals using Exposure Prevention Information network (EPINet) which is the database created by International Healthcare Worker Safety Research and Resource Center, University of Virginia. Results : Two hundred and forty-three sharp injuries and 22 incidents of blood or body fluid exposure were encountered in the cumulated 50 months of our study. The incidence of SIswas thehighestamong nurses (55%) of allthe HCWs, akin to the global data. An injury rate of nearly 20% among housekeeping staff seems to be specific to the Indian data. Patient's room followed by operation theater appeared to be common locations of injury in our study. The source of the injury was identified in majority (64%) of the injuries. A major part of the group was not the primary users of the sharp (38%). Disposable needles caused nearly half of the injuries. Suture needles contributed to a reasonable number of injuries in one of the hospitals. Conclusions : The incidence of SI is the highest among nurses and the housekeeping staff (>30% each). A substantial number of injuries are avoidable.

Changing trends of in vitro antimicrobial resistance patterns in blood isolates in a tertiary care hospital over a period of 4 years.

Context: Multidrug-resistant organisms continue to be a problem for clinicians worldwide. AIMS: To analyze the changing trend of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in the blood isolates over a period of 4 years in our hospital. Settings and Design: This is a retrospective study done in tertiary care cardiac institute over a period of 4 years. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed blood culture positive isolates and studied the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of microorganisms during the period starting from January 2007 to December 2010. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS for windows version 13.0. Fisher exact test or chi-square test was applied for comparison of categorical variables. P values less than .05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The rate of blood culture positivity was 3.72%. Gram-negative bacteria were more common than Gram-positive bacteria. There was a gradual increase in Gram-negative bacteria especially Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter species. Klebsiella pneumoniae showed a significant increase of resistance to cefoperazone sulbactam (P = .023), piperacillin tazobactam (P < 0.001), imipenem (P < 0.001), and meropenem (P < 0.001) between the first (2007-2008) and second period (2009-2010) of study. The carbapenems resistance is on rise in Gram-negative bacteria including Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenters. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is a definite increase in the multidrug resistant organisms. The data on the changing trends in antibiotic resistance, we believe is an important pillar in our efforts at improving infection control practices.