Circumstances Surrounding Occupational Blood Exposure Events in the National Study to Prevent Blood Exposure in Paramedics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boal, Winifred L. ; Leiss, Jack K. ; Sousa S
• Description:
  More than 20% of U.S. paramedics are exposed to blood each year. Little is known about the circumstances that lead to these exposures. The objective of this study was to describe blood exposure events among U.S. paramedics. A mail survey was conducted in 2002-2003 among a nationally representative sample of licensed paramedics. Eighty percent of needle/lancet sticks involved non-safety devices. A third of mucous membrane exposures occurred even though the paramedic was wearing eye or face protection; in half of the events, the exposures were caused by the patient vomiting, spitting, or coughing up blood; in a third of the events, the patient was being uncooperative or combative. In 83% of the non-intact skin exposures, the paramedic was wearing disposable gloves; the non-intact skin was covered before the call in a third of the events, but the cover did not prevent exposure; 40% of the events occurred when the patient was being uncooperative or combative. These results sugge! st that blood exposure among paramedics could be reduced through increased use of safety devices and personal protective equipment, improved engineering and design, and increased compliance with Universal Precautions, and that paramedics need techniques for avoiding blood exposure while treating uncooperative or combative patients. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Blood-Borne Pathogens Demography Emergency Responders Epidemiology Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Needlestick Bloodborne-pathogens Blood Exposure Demographic-characteristics Emergency-responders Exposure-levels Health-care-personnel Needlestick-injuries Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Occupational Exposure Paramedic Paramedical-services Prehospital Questionnaires Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs Survey Work-environment Work-operations Work-practices Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

  More +
• ISSN:
  0019-8366
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  139-144
• Volume:
  47
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035250
• Citation:
  Ind Health 2009 Mar; 47(2):139-144
• Contact Point Address:
  Jack K. Leiss, Epidemiology Research Program, Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities, 6919 Lee Street, Mebane, NC 27302, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Infectious Diseases
• Performing Organization:
  Analytical Sciences, Inc., Durham, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  Industrial Health
• End Date:
  20040331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3fab1eb6f179202a2040863a663e47d459e925f1192c9c2ab3d0cbeaaf5c5076250b2645e0882740b5fa5b24660f814c1cb861e2c6b5f244cc05a61e88b5e377
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187165/cdc_187165_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 49.13 KB ]