Management of Occupational Bloodborne Exposure in a Dental Teaching Environment

Abstract

The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the prevalence of reporting occupational accidents regarding exposure to biological material among undergraduate students of dentistry at an institution of higher education and to estimate risk factors associated with underreporting. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, which had an 86.4 percent rate of return. The sample was made up of 286 undergraduate dental students enrolled in the clinical component of the curriculum, corresponding to the final six semesters of study. The average age of the subjects was 22.4 years. Descriptive, bivariate, simple logistic regression and multiple logistic regression (Stepwise Forward Procedure) analyses were performed, with the significance level set at p≤0.05. Of the total 167 individuals who had been exposed to biological material, 120 (71.9 percent) failed to report the accidents. The variables that were statistically associated with the nonreporting of occupational accidents were nonexposure to blood (OR=4.0; CI 95%: 1.7-10.0) and the fact that the students considered the exposure to be minor or of low risk (OR=8.8; CI 95%: 3.5-23.0) or considered the protocol adopted by the institution to be inadequate (OR=5.2; CI 95%: 1.2-17.1). The development of a procedure review policy is recommended with the aim of establishing continuous vigilance and encouraging the reporting of bloodborne exposure.

Knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of Turkish dentists regarding contamination and prevention of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV infection

“…37 31.1% of Brasilian dentists have reported their injuries in the preceding year. 3 According to the results of a study among Italian dentists, 29.7% of them claimed to have written protocols to follow in case of accident. 34 In this study, 63.6% of dentists have reported the injury and consulted the infectious diseases department after the exposure.…”

“…2 The development of infection resulting from exposure to any contamination agent requires the presence of a pathogen with a sufficient amount and virulence, an appropriate route for transmission of this pathogen and a predisposing subject to infection. 3 The target of the infection control methods is to prevent the development of infection by breaking one or more links to infection chain. 3,4 All the dentists and dentistry students should apply universal standard precautions all patients regardless of estimated contamination status.…”

“…3 The target of the infection control methods is to prevent the development of infection by breaking one or more links to infection chain. 3,4 All the dentists and dentistry students should apply universal standard precautions all patients regardless of estimated contamination status. 5,6 Vaccination, use of personal protective equipment such as sterile face masks, gloves and spectacles and post-exposure prophylaxis are crucial in preventing infection.…”

Campo institucional da Odontologia para pacientes com necessidades especiais na região metropolitana de São Paulo

“…No CRT, é sugerido que todos os profissionais recebam todas as vacinas disponíveis para a prevenção de infecções; os acidentes com instrumentos pérfuro-cortantes são raros e a instituição apóia o profissional em todos os momentos. As vacinas contra as hepatites e protocolo pós-exposição rigoroso são ferramentas que contribuem com o dentista que vai executar os procedimentos (Carvalhais et al, 2007;Azodo et al, 2010).…”

“…Um questionário foi adaptado para ser usado antes e seis semanas depois do curso. Após o curso, com 81% dos participantes tendoCarvalhais et al (2007) investigaram a prevalência da notificação de acidentes do trabalho quanto à exposição a material biológico entre estudantes de graduação de Odontologia em uma instituição de ensino superior em Minas Gerais, e avaliaram os fatores de risco associados à subnotificação. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário, com 86,4% de taxa de retorno.…”