Exposure and Knowledge of Sharps Injuries among Medical Students in Seven States of Mexico

Authors

  • Adrián Camacho-Ortiz Department of Infectious Diseases, Coordination of Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital "Dr. José Eleuterio González ", Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  • Xiomara Díaz-Rodríguez Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  • Mayra Martínez-Palomares Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  • Raúl Hernández-García, 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  • Susana Chávez-Moreno Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  • Elvira Garza-González Gastroenterology and Clinical Pathology Department, University Hospital "Dr. José Eleuterio González ", Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
  • Rafael Valdez-Vázquez Subdirection of Hospital Epidemiology, Hospital Manuel Gea Gonzalez, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Irlanda Díaz-Pino School of Medicine, University Xochicalco, Tijuana BC, Mexico

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2015.109

Keywords:

Needle Stick Injury, Medical Student, Body Fluids, Blood-Borne, Pathogens, HBV-AS04 vaccine, HIV, Preventive Measures

Abstract

Background: Medical students are vulnerable to accidental exposure to blood-borne pathogens when performing clinical activities. Knowledge of both the prevalence of exposure and necessary reporting procedures is important to minimize the risk of harm to medical students.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of medical students from 19 universities from seven states in Mexico was utilized to determinethe prevalence of needle stick injuries amongst medical students and the associated reporting procedures.

Results: We included 312 respondents; of these, 52.24% were men and 47.76% were women, and the mean age was 23.19 years (SD ± 2.11 years). Nearly all of them (94.23%) were medical students doing clerkships in public hospitals. Mean knowledge score of blood-borne pathogens was 3.6 (SD ± 1.16) on a scale of 0-10 designed specifically for this study. Thirty-five per cent of the respondents had sustained a needle stick injury at some point during their medical school training, and 33.97% reported some type of mucocutaneous exposure. Overall, the non-reporting rate of needle stick injury was 48.34%. Approximately 25% of the respondents were not familiar with reporting procedures in the event of a needle stick injury or mucocutaneous exposure; 61.50% had received information from their hospital about the standard protocol to follow after a blood or body fluid exposure.

Conclusion: In this Mexican population of medical students, there is a high risk of suffering needle stick injuries  during medical training. Furthermore, knowledge regarding prevention, evaluation, and reporting of needle stick injuries is suboptimal.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Adrián Camacho-Ortiz, Department of Infectious Diseases, Coordination of Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital "Dr. José Eleuterio González ", Faculty of Medicine, University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.

Xiomara S. Díaz-Rodríguez graduated from a 7 year medical school program in  2014 from the Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Nuevo León in Monterrey, México.

References

1. Varsou O, Lemon JS, Dick FD. Sharps injuries among medical students. Occup Med (Lond). 2009 Oct;59(7):509-11.
2. Salzer HJ, Hoenigl M, Kessler HH, Stigler FL, Raggam RB, Rippel KE, et al. Lack of risk-awareness and reporting behavior towards HIV infection through needle stick injury among European medical students. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2011 Sep;214(5):407-10.
3. Kessler CS, McGuinn M, Spec A, Christensen J, Baragi R, Hershow RC. Underreporting of blood and body fluid exposures among health care students and trainees in the acute care setting: a 2007 survey. Am J Infect Control. 2011 Mar;39(2):129-34.
4. Bernard JA, Dattilo JR, Laporte DM. The incidence and reporting of sharps exposure among medical students, orthopedic residents, and faculty at one institution. J Surg Educ. 2013 Sep-Oct;70(5): 660-8.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HIV and recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis. MMWR 2005;54(No. RR- 9):1-17.
6. Sohn JW, Kim BG, Kim SH, Han C. Mental health of healthcare workers who experience needle stick and sharps injuries. J Occup Health. 2006 Nov;48(6):474-9.
7. Sharma GK, Gilson MM, Nathan H, Makary MA. Needle stick injuries among medical students: incidence and implications. Acad Med. 2009 Dec;84(12):1815-21.
8. Camacho-Ortiz A, Díaz-Rodríguez X, Rodríguez-López JM, Martínez-Palomares M, Palomares-De la Rosa A, Garza-González E. A 5-year surveillance of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in a university teaching hospital in Monterrey, Mexico. Am J Infect Control. 2013 Sep; 41(9):e85-8.
9. Lamontagne F, Abiteboul D, Lolom I, Pellissier G, Tarantola A, Descamps JM, et al. Role of safety-engineered devices in preventing needle stick injuries in 32 French hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2007 Jan; 28(1):18-23.
10. Zafar A, Habib F, Hadwani R, Ejaz M, Khowaja K, Khowaja R, et al. Impact of infection control activities on the rate of needle stick injuries at a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan over a period of six years: an observational study. BMC Infect Di. 2009 May;9:78.
11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and Recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis. MMWR 2001;50(No. RR-11):1-42.
12. Fica CA, Jemenao MI, Ruiz RG, Larrondo LM, Hurtado HC, Muñoz GG, et al. [Biological risk accidents among undergraduate healthcare students: five years experience]. Rev Chilena Infectol. 2010 Feb;27(1):34-9. Spanish.
13. Naghavi SH, Shabestari O, Alcolado J. Post-traumatic stress disorder in trainee doctors with previous needle stick injuries. Occup Med (Lond). 2013 Jun;63(4):260-5.
14. Farooqi H, Patel H, Aslam HM, Ansari IQ, Khan M, Iqbal N, et al. Effect of Facebook on the life of Medical University students. Int Arch Med. 2013 Oct;6(1):40.

Downloads

Published

2015-05-24

How to Cite

Camacho-Ortiz, A., Díaz-Rodríguez, X., Martínez-Palomares, M., Hernández-García, R., Chávez-Moreno, S., Garza-González, E., Valdez-Vázquez, R., & Díaz-Pino, I. (2015). Exposure and Knowledge of Sharps Injuries among Medical Students in Seven States of Mexico. International Journal of Medical Students, 3(1), 24–28. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2015.109

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Original Article

Categories

License

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org