Exposures to bloodborne pathogens: a NIOSH health hazard evaluation

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from hospital administration, an investigation was made of the effectiveness of procedures and personnel protective equipment used to minimize exposures to bloodborne disease among employees in a small hospital serving a local rural population. The written policy instructions at the hospital were consistent with Centers for Disease Control recommendations and the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standard. Several procedures appeared to present numerous occasions for injuries from sharp instruments which may be contaminated with body fluids. The location of sharps disposal containers presented a risk of injuries from sharps. Results of a questionnaire indicated that 90 employees experienced 170 exposures during 1990 through November 23 of 1991. The system in place at the hospital for monitoring percutaneous exposures probably underestimated the true incidence of such exposures. The most frequent exposure occurred during administration of a parenteral medication to a patient or while inserting an intravenous catheter in the patient. The second most commonly reported exposure scenario occurred during administration of medications by intravenous piggyback (IVPB) or during disposal of the IVPB sets. Several instances were noted of noncompliance with universal precautions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Communicable Diseases Health Personnel Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Health-care-personnel Infection-control Needlestick-injuries NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Safety-research
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00214813
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 1993 Jun; 8(6):542-546
• Editor(s):
  Tharr D
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2b0ed7104487167c9bf11200ec576d11226f9a0fcedc31de8bab490ae48211f37174677c672efeb9a2cfd8841a1a5268bdd2bf1453bf9aa81650e840280e2901
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204751/cdc_204751_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 811.48 KB ]