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Document ID (ISN)61264
CIS number 93-2073
ISSN - Serial title 0271-3586 - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Year 1993
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Longbottom H.M., Cox K., Sokas R.K.
Title Body fluid exposure in an urban tertiary care medical centre
Bibliographic information May 1993, Vol.23, No.5, p.703-710. Illus. 14 ref.
Abstract The increasing prevalence of the human immunodeficiency (HIV) and hepatitis B virus has focused attention on the risks that health care workers face when exposed to potentially infective body fluids. This study establishes a profile of 320 parenteral exposure incidents and 47 exposure incidents to mucous membranes or abraded skin, reported in a medical centre between July 1988 and July 1990. It was found that 102 (27.8%) of the incidents involved an HIV-positive patient, that 130 (35.4%) of the reporting employees had completed their hepatitis B vaccination at the time of the incident, and that, although the majority of incidents involved employees with patient contact, service workers also were represented (4.6%, n=17). Factors contributing to incidents included recapping (10.9%, n=40), full needle-boxes (7.6%, n=28), and inappropriate disposal (13.1%, n=48). A health fair featuring walk-in hepatitis B immunisation attracted 260 participants, 90% of whom completed the entire immunisation series. This significantly improved the immunisation rate of employees subsequently reporting body fluid exposure.
Descriptors (primary) blood; infectious diseases; infectious hepatitis; risk factors; hospitals; health care personnel; immunodeficiency syndrome
Descriptors (secondary) immunization; virus diseases
Document type D - Periodical articles
Country / State or ProvinceUSA
Subject(s) Medicine, hygiene and first aid
Broad subject area(s) Biological hazards
Browse category(ies) Liver diseases
HIV/AIDS
Health care services
Bacterial and parasitic diseases
Viral diseases (other than aids)