A study on needle stick injuries among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital in India

Background: Needle stick injury among health workers is regarded as an occupational hazard. Health care workers are at risk of having blood-borne diseases in case they are exposed to blood and other biological samples of the patients. Moreover, staff including doctors working in tertiary care hospitals has high work load which results in increased chances of getting these injuries. The aim and objectives of this study were to find out the prevalence of needle stick injury among different categories of health care workers. Authors also aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices associated with it.Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study design to know the prevalence of needle stick injury among various health care workers of Karpagam Faculty of Medical Sciences and Research, a tertiary level care hospital in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. A total of 250 health care workers were selected for the study purpose. A self-designed, semi-structured, pre-tested questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of needle stick injuries and the factors associated with it.Results: A majority of health care workers (94%) knew about needle stick injury and 92% were aware that HIV can be transmitted through needle stick injury, 78.4% and 69.65% were aware of Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C transmission respectively. About 28.4% of subjects had encountered needle stick injury in their past. Furthermore, it was found that type of exposure and place of exposure was significantly associated with different categories of health care workers (p <0.001).Conclusions: Prevention of health workers against needle stick injury is the best possible way to prevent several bloods borne diseases. There should be a prevention programme which special focus on training of health care workers. Further strategies aiming at preventive measures and reporting of the Needle stick injuries accidents should be made compulsory among health care workers.

Sharp injuries: a cross-sectional study among health care workers in a provincial teaching hospital in China

BACKGROUND@#The objectives of this study are to investigate the incidence and reporting behavior of sharp injuries among healthcare workers (HCWs) and identify the risk factors associated with these injuries.@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2017 in a provincial teaching hospital in China. Data were collected from 901 HCWs using a self-administered questionnaire which included demographic information, experience, and reporting behavior of sharp injuries. Stepwise logistical regression was used to analyze the risk factors.@*RESULTS@#HCWs (248 [27.5%]) had sustained a sharp injury in the previous year. Factors including seniority, job category, title, education, department, and training programs were associated with the occurrence of sharp injuries. According to the stepwise logistical regression, seniority, and training programs were the risk factors associated with the occurrence of sharp injuries. Of 248 sharp injuries, 130 HCWs were exposed to blood. Only 44 (33.9%) HCWs reported their injuries to the concerned body. The main reasons for not reporting the sharp injuries were as follows: perception that the extent of the injury was light (30.2%), having antibodies (27.9%), and unaware of injury (16.3%).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Sharp injuries in the studied hospital were common and were likely to be underreported. Therefore, an effective reporting system and sufficient education on occupational safety should be implemented by the relevant institutions. Moreover, it is important to take effective measures to manage sharp injuries in HCWs and provide guidance for their prevention.

Detection and anslysis of infection indicators of 2 576 patients before transfusion / 中国基层医药

Objective To analyze the patients with infection before transfusion in onder to avoid misdiagnosis and blood transfusion caused by cross-infection and remind medical staff attention to operation and self-protection.Methods HBsAg,Anti-HCV,Anti-TP,Anti-HIV1/2 were detecced by 2 576 cases of pre-operative,prenatal,blood transfusions before the patient's blood ELISA assay.Results 2 576 cases of infectious markers in patients with serum positive rate was 12.15％.The positive rates of was HBsAg,Anti-HCV,Anti-TP,Anti-HIV1/2:11.06％,2.13％,1.67％,0.00％,HBsAg and Anti-HCV were positive for both the percentage of 0.54％.Conclusion The transfusion of pre-infection detection is necessary for patients with early diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases to avoid and prevent hospital infections,medical personnel,as well as occupational infection to reduce or avoid blood transfusion caused by medical disputes.

Procedure of venepuncture for blood donation and arterial blood sampling.

Blood banks use various processes to prevent infections that can be transmitted by blood donation. One important measure to prevent infection is to recruit donors from populations that are known to have low rates of infection for blood borne diseases, such as voluntary, unpaid donors and people with no history of intravenous drug use. A second measure is to ask donors a series of additional screening questions (these will vary by region) to help identify those who may be at higher risk of infection. Phlebotomists must adhere strictly to the rules for including and excluding blood donors. The process for collecting blood from donors is similar to that used for blood sampling; however, a few additional measures are required for collection of donated blood. These measures are primarily to ensure patient safety, but also to minimize exogenous contamination of a donated blood unit or its derived components, particularly contamination from the skin flora of the donor’s arm.