Abstract
Up to 800,000 needle sticks occur to healthcare workers in the United States annually, risking transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis. Procedures prone to needle sticks include injection, suturing, and excision. High risk injuries involve deep penetration, large bore blood-filled needles, exposure to large quantities of blood or for prolonged periods to non-intact skin, and high viral load of the source patient. Reporting should occur immediately and include details of the incident, of the source patient, and of the healthcare provider history. If post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV is necessary, the first dose should be swallowed within 24–36 h of exposure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Preventing Needlestick Injuries in Health Care Settings. (Publication no. 2000-108). 1999. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2000-108/.
Bakaeen F, Awad S, Albo D, Bellows CF, Huh J, Kistner C, Izard D, Triebel J, Khan M, Berger DH. Epidemiology of exposure to blood borne pathogens on a surgical service. Am J Surg. 2006;192:e18–21.
Makary MA, Al-Attar A, Holzmueller CG, et al. Needlestick injuries among surgeons in training. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(26):2693–9.
Panlilio AL, Orelien JG, Srivastava PU, Jagger J, Cohn RD, Cardo DM, NaSH Surveillance Group; EPINet Data Sharing Network. Estimate of the annual number of percutaneous injuries among hospital-based healthcare workers in the United States, 1997-1998. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004;25(7):556–62.
Tolle MA, Schwarzwald HL. Postexposure prophylaxis against human immunodeficiency virus. Am Fam Physician. 2010;82(2):161–6.
Doebbeling BN. Percutaneous injury: risks and management. In: Schlossberg D, editor. Current therapy of infectious disease. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book; 2000. p. 402–7.
Premier, Prevent Needlestick injuries. https://legacy.premierinc.com/quality-safety/tools-services/safety/topics/needlestick/non-acute-care.jsp. Accessed 20 Dec 2014.
Jagger J, Balon M. Suture needle and scalpel blade injuries. Adv Expo Prev. 1995;1(3):6–9.
Donnelly AF, Chang YH, Nemeth-Ochoa SA. Sharps injuries and reporting practices of U.S. dermatologists. Dermatol Surg. 2013;39(12):1813–21.
Goulart JM, Oliveria SA, Levitt J. Safety during dermatologic procedures and surgeries: a survey of resident injuries and prevention strategies. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011;65(3):648–50.
Cardo DM, Culver DH, Ciesielski CA. A case-control study of HIV seroconversion in health care workers after percutaneous exposure. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Needlestick Surveillance Group. N Engl J Med. 1997;337(21):1485–90.
CDC. Updated CDC recommendations for the management of hepatitis B virus-infected health-care providers and students. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2012;61(RR-3):1–12.
Henderson DK. Management of needlestick injuries: a house office who has a needlestick. JAMA. 2012;307(1):75–84.
CDC. Introduction to Travel Health & the Yellow Book. Website. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-2-the-pre-travel-consultation/occupational-exposure-to-hiv.htm. Accessed 24 Nov 2012.
Henderson DK. HIV in the healthcare setting. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, editors. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 7th ed. New York: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009. p. 3753–70.
CDC. Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HIV and recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2005;54(RR09):1–17.
Beekmann SE, Henderson DK. Health care workers and hepatitis: risk for infection and management of exposures. Infect Dis Clin Pract. 1992;1(6):424–8.
Jaeckel E, Cornberg M, Wedemeyer H, et al.; German Acute Hepatitis C Therapy Group. Treatment of acute hepatitis C with interferon alfa-2b. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(20):1452–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sobanko, J.F. (2015). Occupational Exposures: Epidemiology and Protocols. In: Levitt, J., Sobanko, J. (eds) Safety in Office-Based Dermatologic Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13347-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13347-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13346-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13347-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)