Occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses – post-exposure prophylaxis
Abstract:
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased risk of blood-borne pathogen (BBP) infection due to occupational blood exposures (OBEs). Early reporting, detection, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) allows for prevention of infections.
Aim: To investigate the incidence of OBEs, related epidemiological characteristics, PEP completion rate, time and reason for PEP discontinuation, and seroconversion rate reported over 10 years.
Methods: We retrospectively analysed 1,086 OBE cases and staff PEP management from January 2012 to December 2021 in a South Korean tertiary hospital.
Findings: The mean incidence of OBE was 7.82 per 100 beds and 3.0 per 100 HCWs. Among 1,086 cases, 633 (58.3%) required PEP, and 453 (41.7%) did not. After OBEs, 70.1% (444/633) of those subject to PEP completed tracking, and 29.9% (189/633) stopped PEP tracking (p < 0.001). The PEP completion rate showed a significant difference according to gender (p = 0.024), occupation (p < 0.001), and exposure frequency (p < 0.001). None of the 444 HCWs who completed PEP seroconverted to hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, or Treponema pallidum (syphilis).
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the need to improve follow-up care among HCWs following OBEs. There is a need for education in healthcare facilities; moreover, establishing a national surveillance system is necessary to ensure that HCWs proactively undergo PEP and complete their follow-up visits.
Reference:
Lee JB, Choi JS. Healthcare workers’ epidemiology of occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses, post-exposure prophylaxis, and seroconversion over 10 years. J Hosp Infect. 2023 Feb 18:S0195-6701(23)00047-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2023.02.003. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36805081.