Compliance with Universal Precautions among emergency department personnel: Implications for prevention programs☆☆☆★★★

The level of knowledge of, attitude toward and emphasis given to HBV and HCV infections among healthcare professionals: Data from a tertiary hospital in Turkey

“…Although the probability of pathogen transmission was reported not to be a result of a single incident, but a number of exposures over time, combined with high prevalence of diseases [14], the confirmation of consulting the department of infectious diseases in case of accidental puncture with HBV/HCV-contaminated needles in more than two thirds of our HCWs emphasizes the value of immediate reporting of possible exposure risk in an estimation of real life exposure in daily clinical practice [25,26]. Nurses/midwives were reported to be at a greater risk for occupational exposure compared to other HCWs [27], and similar data from all around the world showed nurses to have more occupational injuries [28][29][30][31]. Surgical sites were shown to be a contributing variable since the splashing of BBF onto mucosal surfaces during the operation, injections, intravenous access, and blood draws was considered as a significant factor for the transmission of viral diseases [20].…”

Compliance With Universal Precautions Among Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Center in Thailand

“…The questionnaire was developed as part of a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and had been previously validated. 5 At each annual 2-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration training session during 2004, medical students were asked to respond to multiplechoice questions. The questions were designed to identify the students' knowledge and attitudes in the following areas: (1) the risk of an unvaccinated HCW acquiring a bloodborne pathogen infection after a needlestick or sharps injury involving a patient with HBV, HCV, or HIV infection; (2) the effectiveness of postexposure prophylaxis against HIV; (3) perception of the risk of acquiring a bloodborne pathogen and attitudes about the benefits of using universal precautions; (4) patient factors that influence use of personal protective equipment and the types of personal protective equipment used.…”

“…Furthermore, underreporting of needlestick injuries (only 46% were reported) was common among medical students, as has been previously reported in studies of HCWs in developed countries. 5,6 Within the recognized limitations of retrospective studies, these data suggest that medical students in Thailand had inadequate knowledge and suboptimal use of universal precautions and underused important safety strategies for prevention of occupational exposure. This emphasizes the need for focused educational interventions that address the epidemiology of bloodborne pathogen transmission risk, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, procedures for reporting needlestick injuries, and current recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis against HIV.…”

Exposición laboral a fluidos corporales de riesgo en el Hospital Clínico Félix Bulnes Cerda durante 11 años de estudio

“…33 , donde sólo 20% del personal de urgencias logra identificar el riesgo que implica el no tener un esquema de vacunación completa contra hepatitis B; 49% sabe que la eficacia de la vacunación está por sobre 90% y 43% sabe de la importancia de administrar una terapia anti-retroviral pocas horas después del accidente; 87% tenían completo el esquema de vacunación contra hepatitis B y 49% conocían la alta eficacia de la vacunación. Los servicios de salud cuentan con programas de prevención y control de estos accidentes; no obstante, estos programas no han logrado el resultado esperado en cuanto a la sensibilidad de dicho sistema, ya que la literatura médica extranjera describe cifras de sub-notificación que varían entre 20 y 80% 34,35 .…”