Occupational Exposures to Body Fluids and Behaviors Regarding Their Prevention and Post-Exposure Among Medical and Nursing Students at a Brazilian Public University

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the frequencies and characteristics of occupational exposures among medical and nursing students at a Brazilian public university, in addition to their prevention and post-exposure behavior. During the second semester of 2010, a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was completed by 253/320 (79.1%) medical students of the clinical course and 149/200 (74.5%) nursing students who were already performing practical activities. Among medical students, 53 (20.9%) suffered 73 injuries, which mainly occurred while performing extra-curricular activities (32.9%), with cutting and piercing objects (56.2%), in the emergency room (39.7%), and as a result of lack of technical preparation or distraction (54.8%). Among nursing students, 27 (18.1%) suffered 37 injuries, which mainly occurred with hollow needles (67.6%) in the operating room or wards (72.2%), and as a result of lack of technical preparation or distraction (62.1%). Among medical and nursing students, respectively, 96.4% and 48% were dissatisfied with the instructions on previously received exposure prevention; 48% and 18% did not always use personal protective equipment; 67.6% and 16.8% recapped used needles; 49.3% and 35.1% did not bother to find out the source patient's serological results post-exposure; and 1.4% and 18.9% officially reported injuries. In conclusion, this study found high frequencies of exposures among the assessed students, inadequate practices in prevention and post-exposure, and, consequently, the need for training in “standard precautions” to prevent such exposures.

Prevalence and Post-exposure Prophylaxis use for Needlestick Injuries among Health Care Providers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kochi, India

“…In the present study, majority of NSIs occurred in patient rooms (32.5%), which was consistent with the observations made by Guo et al (22) (38%) but differs from results of other studies, where the highest percentage of NSIs were observed in the minor operation theater and emergency operation theater (18,23). The present study reveals that the maximum number of NSIs occurred during the "post-procedure" work-up from used needles (64%) compared to the "during procedure" work-up (36%).…”

Clinical treatment adherence of health care workers and students exposed to potentially infectious biological material

“…Considering the occurrence of exposure among students, the results of the present study demonstrate the need for approaching this topic at the start of nursing coursework to ensure knowledge on the topic before their exposure to risk situations. Low adherence to preventive measures among nursing and medical students reflect insufficient knowledge on current recommendations (13) . Furthermore, it is recommended that health care institutions notify accidents, provide the exposed worker with correct prophylaxis and provide information about vaccination schedules and its importance in clinical practice (14) .…”

Investigating needle stick injuries: Incidence, knowledge and perception among South Jordanian nursing students

“…[29] Similarly, Souza-Borges et al (2014) identified that 26.2% and 14% of those cases were due to mismanagement by healthcare workers and the 73.8% and 50.9%, respectively were avoidable if trainings to undergraduate nursing students have been provided. [30] The high prevalence of accidents by sharp objects, especially those involving injection needles, phlebotomy, infusion and scalpels could be prevented by adopting safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment. The introduction of devices with safety features could lead to a significantly reduced number of needle stick injuries.…”