Evaluation of Injuries Involving Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids Among Hospital Healthcare Workers

Abstract

Introduction: Injuries involving exposure to blood and body fluids are among the risks that healthcare staff frequently encounter. In this study, injuries that occurred in Nenehatun Obstetrics Hospital from January 2011 to May 2016 were evaluated and preventive measures to reduce injuries among healthcare workers are presented. Materials and Methods: "Staff Injury Forms" recorded by the hospital Infection Control Committee (ICC) between January 2011 and May 2016 in Nenehatun Obstetrics Hospital were retrospectively assessed. In addition, a survey concerning blood and body fluid exposure in the last five years was conducted among the 180 staff members who could be reached from a total of 252 healthcare personnel. Data were analyzed using SSPS v.15.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA) data analysis system. Results: Of 38 cases reported to the ICC, 18% (n=7) of the employees were male and 82% (n=31) were female. Only 2.63% involved mucosal contact with blood and body fluid exposure, the remaining 97.3% were percutaneous sharp object injuries. Analysis of the survey data revealed that 0.5% of the injuries consisted of exposure to blood and body fluids and 26.4% consisted of percutaneous injuries. According to ICC data, 72.9% were needlestick injuries. The group of healthcare workers injured most often was cleaning staff according to ICC data (31.5%) and doctors and nurses according to the survey data (24.5%). Injuries mostly took place in delivery room according to ICC data; however, survey results indicated that injuries mostly occurred in the surgery room. According to the investigation of immunity status of 38 healthcare staff, all were negative for anti-HCV and anti-HIV; while 92.1% (n=35) were found positive for anti-HBs and 7.9% (n=3) were negative for anti-HBs. Of the source patients of the blood or body fluid, 10.5% (n=4) were positive for HBsAg, 2.6% (n=1) were positive for anti-HBs, and 71% (n=27) were negative for anti-HBs. Seroconversion was not detected in any of the cases. Conclusion: In addition to standard infection control measures, the occupational hazards faced by healthcare workers can be decreased by providing immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases, eliminating problems concerning staff recruitment, improving usage of safe medical instruments, implementing continuous employee training, and repeating training to increase the quality and awareness of the staff.

Keywords

• Needle stick and sharp injury
• infection
• vaccine rejection
• HIV
• HBV