Incidence and frequency of mucocutaneous exposure and percutaneous injuries in Greek nurses: are they protected enough?

Abstract

Background: Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids by sharps and needlestick injuries is common among healthcare workers, resulting in over 1,000 infections per year. Aim: To estimate the incidence and frequency of occupational exposure among nurses in correlation to their hepatitis B immunization levels. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey, performed between May and September 2008 in 17 Greek public hospitals. Results: Overall, 72% of nurses reported at least one type of exposure (mucocutaneous or percutaneous) within their professional career. Of these, 51% had at least one mucous membrane exposure, whereas 65.2% had sustained at least one needlestick injury, only 19.7% of which had reported it to the Infections Control Department. In total, 63.2% of nurses reported that they were protected through hepatitis B vaccination. Conclusions: The rates of occupational exposure presented in this study are particularly high. Further, a significant percentage of healthcare workers are not protected against hepatitis B infection. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Balkan Military Medical Review is the property of Balkan Military Medical Committee and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)