Investigation of the occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens of staff at a third-class specialist hospital in 2015–2018: a retrospective study

Abstract

To understand the current situation of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens in a women's and children's hospital and analyze the causes to provide a scientific basis for improving occupational exposure prevention and control measures. We analyzed occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens in a third-class women's and children's hospital from 2015 to 2018, considering the workers’ occupational categories and length of service; the sites, types, and causes of exposure; and the pathogens of the source patients. From 2015 to 2018, there were 146 cases of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens, mainly from sharp-instrument injuries (81.5%; 119/146). Trainees represented the highest proportion of occupational exposure (30.1%; 44/146), followed by nurses (29.5%; 43/146). Occupational exposure among staff with less than one year of service accounted for 43.2% (63/146) of cases. Fisher's exact test showed that different occupational groups had different types of occupational exposure, and among the occupationally exposed populations, the proportion of sharp injuries is higher than that of blood and body fluid exposure, and the difference is statistically significant (χ2 = 12.937, P = 0.008). Different occupational groups faced exposure to different types of pathogens: medical staff were more likely than workmen to be exposed to hepatitis B, while workmen were more likely than medical staff to be exposed to unknown pathogens; these differences were statistically significant (χ2 = 55.344, P < 0.001). Health records were established for all cases of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens, and no staff members contracted a blood-borne disease due to occupational exposure. In order to reduce occupational exposure, regular training in occupational protection for junior medical staff and workers should be strengthened, the monitoring and protection system of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens improved, standard prevention measures strengthened, operations standardized, safe injection equipment provided, and comprehensive measures taken.

The Cross-Sectional Study of attitudes towards risk factors of viral infections transmitted by blood-borne pathogens

“…Recently conducted studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (19) , Serbia (26) and China (27) show that many studies that investigated incidents of blood exposures showed some significant differences in prevalence between different professional groups. As an example a study in China in the period from 2015-2018 year proved that nurses are in greater risk of exposure of blood-transfer infections (28) , while other studies in Serbia, India and Jamaica proved a greater risk of exposure among physicians (26,29,30) . Also, the profile of the nurses/ technicians did not prove to be a predictor for the occurrence of professional exposure to blood and body fluids transmissible infections.…”

Occupational exposure of dental nurses in a tertiary dental hospital in Beijing: A single-centre retrospective study

“…The main bloodborne infection that causes occupational contact of hospital staff is hepatitis B (30.8%), followed by HIV/AIDS (7.5%). In the other 36.3% of cases, the pathogen status of the source patient is uncertain [10] . Dental nurses are exposed to many special sharp instruments, such as needles, scalers, pulp extractors, ultrasonic tips and periodontal probes.…”

Evaluating occupational exposures of dental nurses: A retrospective study

“…Generally, nurses are involved in frontline work; they directly participate in medical treatment, and the quality of their work is related to patients' medical safety, therapy, and recovery ( 7 ). Previous studies have shown that nurses have a higher occupational exposure rate than doctors ( 8 , 9 ). The job of dental nurses is particular because they are exposed to many special sharp instruments, such as endodontic files and ultrasonic tips.…”