Awareness Regarding Universal Safety Precaution Among Nurses and Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship in a Teaching Hospital

Purpose: The lack of awareness regarding the policies and procedures about universal precautions among medical students has resulted in higher accidental exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens and body fluids. So, the current situation needs such type of study which can help in improving awareness about universal precautions among Nurses and Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internships (CRRI), those who constitute a major role in controlling deadly infections. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among nurses of all departments and Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internships (CRRI) between June & July 2020 in a teaching medical hospital near Kancheepuram. A total of 400 nurses who were deputed in various departments and 50 Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internships (CRRIs) were requested to take part in the study. The emails were gathered and formal informed consent was sent along with the standard questionnaire. The questions were prepared in a simple language from a valid & reliable measure. Statistical methods: The data are entered and analysed by MS Excel. A chi square test is carried to test the association between the proportion. Results: The level of knowledge among nurses and CRRIs were similar without a significant difference between them. The awareness regarding universal precaution in nurses with different working experience were also similar without any significant differences. About 95% of CRRIs were aware about the universal precautions. The awareness about universal precaution and practice was not statistically significant when compared between the nurses and CRRIs. Conclusion: The current study findings assure that the nurses and Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRIs) were aware and are knowledgeable about the standard precautions and their importance in reducing infections. The present result shows the infectious committee has a great role in educating the health care workers and provide a better environment for serving the patients.

Management and Attitudes of Patients Victims Accidental Exposure to Blood at the Day Care Unit of the Central Hospital of Yaoundé (Cameroon) from January 2007 to December 2016

Background: There is little data on Accidental Exposure to Blood (AEB) in Cameroon.Objectives: to learn about the management of AEB among professional and non-professional patient at the day care unit of the Central Hospital of YaoundéMethod: This was a 10-year retrospective study in which data concerning socio-demographic characteristics, exposure and consultation circumstances, measures taken after the accident, the status of the source patient and of the patient consultant and the prescribed ARV protocol were analyzed.Results: Six hundred files were selected, including 49.2% professional exposure and 50.2% non-professional. The mean age was 30 ± 9.7 years with extremes of 11 and 67 years. The main circumstances of AEB were needle stick (professional AEB) and rape (non-professional AEB). Prophylaxis with triple antiretroviral therapy has been prescribed to all patients.Conclusion: Non-professional and professional AEB are found in equivalent proportions in our series. Triple antiretroviral therapy was prescribed for all patients. Staff awareness policies could be developed to respect universal precautionary measures.

Assessing Five Years of Management of Accidental Exposure to Blood at Gao Hospital, Mali

Accidental exposure to blood (AEB) constitutes a risk of transmission of blood-borne viruses including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus especially amongst health workers. This study aims to describe accidental exposure to blood and post exposure management five years after it begin at the Hospital of Gao, since 2012 there is insurrection in this area making difficult to maintain health care system. This study will help to identify gaps to fill in order to improve the prevention of blood borne pathogen infection in this hospital. All cases of AEB declared at the Hospital from January 1st 2007 to December 31, 2011 have been enrolled. The sociodemographic profile of victims, the circumstances of the accident, the post exposure management and the follow up of subject have been registered. Data were entered and analyzed with the SPSS software. Chi square test was used with the level of significance p<0.05. During the 60 months of the study, an average of 124 workers were employed at the Hospital of Gao and 15 cases of accidental blood exposure were declared equal to an incidence density of 4.2 cases per 100 persons per year. Males were the most affected (60%). Nurses and lab technicians represent the majority of victims (53.3%). The most frequent type of accident was the injury by cannula needle sticks during intravenous injections (73.3%). Most of the cases received High Activity Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) within a mean delay of 25 Hours from the accident, and the regiment (AZT/3TC/LPV/r) is predominantly used. HIV serology was done in 53.3% of subjects and revealed 1 positive case. Initial blood tests in all victims were normal. The HAART observance was worst among medical doctors (p < 0.001). No contaminations by HIV were detected after 6 months of follow up. The frequency of declared accidental exposures to blood at the Hospital of Gao is low. The post exposure management is facing a problem of observance of the treatment whenever it shows efficacy in all cases.

Blood and body fluids: knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students in Ajman, UAE

The health care workers should be aware of Universal Work Precaution (UWP) as there is an increased risk of exposure to infectious diseases which is considered mainly due to accidental exposure to blood and body fluids. This study mainly aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students on blood and body fluids at Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study subjects constituted 212 medical students of academic years 2005 – 2009. A self administered questionnaire was utilized for data collection and analysis was performed using statistical software PASW 17. Results: The participant’s age ranged from 17 to 27 years. A statistically significant association (P<0.001) between knowledge on UWP and year of study was observed, with a highest knowledge of 95.5% in third year, 88% fifth year, 82.5% fourth year, 67.3% second year and a lowest of 33.3% in first year. A statistically significant association was obtained between knowledge and practice (P<0.01) of medical students regarding needle recapping. The study reported, that a majority of participants with the opinion on wearing surgical aprons, masks and protective goggles during surgery while the practice was not up to the level of knowledge. Statistically significant association was obtained between knowledge and practice (P<0.01) with regard to the usage of surgical aprons and protective goggles. The present study thus indicates an increase in practice with increase in knowledge. The study also emphasizes the need for providing proper education on transmission of blood-borne infections, standard precautions and increasing availability of protection strategies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v3i1.5981 International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol 3 No 1 (2013) 5-10