Major ArticleOccupational exposure to blood and body fluids among health care workers in Ankara, Turkey
Section snippets
Subjects
The study was conducted in 2 tertiary hospitals of the Ankara University School of Medicine. These 2 hospitals have a total of 2100 beds: 1100 in one and 1000 in the other. The study was approved by the research board of the hospital. We intended to reach the maximum number of HCWs. Therefore, HCWs active in patient care (physicians, nurses, nurse assistants, laboratory technicians, dentists, and anesthesiology technicians) were asked to participate to the study. The housekeeping personnel were
Results
Of the 1680 HCWs, 988 (59%) were interviewed. The mean age was 31 years, and 70% were female (Table 1). Six hundred thirty-four (64%) of the HCWs had been exposed to BBFs at least once in their professional life (0.85 exposure per person-year). In the last 6 months, 343 HCWs (35%) had the history of BBF exposure, and 214 (62%) of them claimed SIs, with an average number of injuries per HCWs as 2 (minimum, 1; maximum, 20) (Table 2). Although none was proven, 10 subjects in our study
Discussion
Exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials has long been recognized as a potential threat to the health of HCWs. NSIs and cuts are the most commonly reported (77% to 83.5%, respectively) routes of BBF exposure in the studies based on voluntary notification to occupational health departments.6, 7, 8 In our study, 62% of the BBF exposures occurring in the last 6 months were related to SIs. It was striking that 150 (15%) HCWs were not protected against HBV infection, and of the
Conclusion
Sharps injuries among HCWs are a widespread occupational problem in our institution. Systematic control measures including an effective and goal-oriented education program targeting HCWs, prospective record keeping, installation of a special unit providing for the health of HCWs, introduction of safety-enhanced devices in clinical practice, and good organization of the work and the work place should be implemented in the hospital settings.
References (14)
- et al.
Sharps injury recordkeeping activities and safety product use in California health care facilities: pilot study results from the sharps injury control program
Am J Infect Control
(2002) - et al.
Risk of medical sharps injuries among Chinese nurses
Am J Infect Control
(2002) - et al.
Occupational blood and body fluids exposures in health care workers: four year surveillance from the Northern France network
Am J Infect Control
(2003) - et al.
Health care worker's experince with postexposure management of bloodborne pathogen exposures: a pilot study
Am J Infect Control
(2000) Public Health Service Guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis
MMWR
(2001)Transmission and postexposure management of bloodborne virus infections in the health care setting: where are we now?
CMAJ
(2001)- Mıstık R, Balık İ. Epidemiological analysis of viral hepatitis in Turkey. In: Tekeli E, Balık İ, editors. Viral...
Cited by (76)
What were the changes during the COVID-19 pandemic era concerning occupational risks among health care workers?
2021, Journal of Infection and Public HealthOccupational Health Cognizance: Needle stick injuries among student nurses
2021, International Journal of Africa Nursing SciencesCitation Excerpt :Competency act as a major contributor toward incidents of NSIs as suggested by reports from literature search (Alimohamadi, Taghdir, Sepandi, Kalhor, & Abedini, 2020; Motaarefi, Mahmoudi, Mohammadi, & Factors, 2016; Manzoor et al., 2010) and present study results are also indicative of this because lack of concentration, performing procedure in hurry/rush, recapping was reported as major attributing components leading to occupational hazards with NSIs. Furthermore, few studies have reported needle recapping and workload as the commonest cause for NSIs (Zafar, Aslam, Nasir, Meraj, & Mehraj, 2008; Azap et al., 2005; Makary, Al-Attar, Holzmueller, Sexton, Syin, Gilson, Sulkowski, & Pronovost, 2007). Extensive review of previous studies revealed the occurrence of NSIs was related to three major factors: engineering factors such as the design of sharps and barrier devices, organizational factors such as the availability of supplies and reporting policies, and behavioural factors such as recapping and disposal-related issues (Motaarefi et al., 2016).
Retrospective investigation of 9 years of data on needlestick and sharps injuries: Effect of a hospital infection control committee
2019, American Journal of Infection ControlCitation Excerpt :In our study, we found that 50 (9.3%) of the sharp instruments that caused NSIs were contaminated with HBV, 30 (5.6%) with HCV, 3 with CCHF virus, 1 with HIV, and 2 with concomitant HBV and HCV. In a study by Azap et al11 conducted in Turkey, 17% of the source patients were HBsAg positive, 7% were anti-HCV antibody positive, and 3% were both HBV and HCV positive. In a study by Kuruuzum et al,12 again from Turkey, seropositivity of the source patients for HCV, HBV, and HIV was reported as 7%, 4.7%, and 0.8%, respectively.
Reducing needlestick injuries through safety-engineered devices: Results of a Japanese multi-centre study
2016, Journal of Hospital InfectionOCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT SERIES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN TURKEY: A FIVE YEARS RETROSPECTIVE STUDY
2023, Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine