Needlestick from HIV patient

October 8, 2008

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Jeffrey Parks MD, Board Certified General Surgeon on East Side of Cleveland, Ohio describes the moment he sustained a needlestick injury from a HIV positive patient.

“I wasn’t paying close attention, my eyes off the operative field when I felt a sharp prick on my index finger. Looking down, my heart sank; the creamy white of the glove was rapidly staining red from the inside. I ripped the glove off and blood was pouring from a deep wound. It hurt like hell. I felt it to the bone. I started dumping betadine on it, then wrapped it in gauze. The attending sent me down to employee health.

When you sustain a needle stick injury, you get plugged into the “system”. You get your blood drawn. You meet with the nurse practitioner. An incident report is filed. You basically spend three hours in employee health. Then I met with the ID specialist. This was the same guy, coincidentally, who took care of my patient. He shook his head, reading the chart. Of all the people to get stuck by, he said”.

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