Background: Health care
workers especially interns may be at increased health risk due to exposure to
blood and body fluids. Objective: To determine the prevalence of occupational
exposure to blood and body fluids (EBBF) among interns at the University of Port
Harcourt Teaching hospital (UPTH). Methodology: This cross-sectional study was
carried out among interns at the UPTH. Informed written consent was obtained.
The obtained data from a self-administered
questionnaire and Infection Control Team records were analysed using SPSS
version 21 and are presented
as prose and tables. Results: Eighty four interns were studied giving a
response rate of 93.3%: 40 (47.6%) were males while
44 (52.4%) were females giving a male:female ratio of 1:1.1. Thirty two (38.1%)
were aware of the availability of sharp bins, 55 (65.5%) recapped and discarded into waste bins while 4
(4.8%) discarded into
sharp bins without re-capping. Prevalence of EBBF was 89.3%. Thirty one (41.4%)
had Blood and Body Fluid Splash (BBFS), 22 (29.3%) had Needle Stick Injury
(NSI) while 22 (29.3%) had combined NSI and BBFS. Thirteen (29.5%) of the NSI
occurred during rotation in Paediatrics. Seventeen (32.1%) and 16 (30.2%) of
BBFS occurred during Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics rotation
respectively. Eleven (25%) reported the NSI to the Infection control team (ICT)
and 3 (27.3%) completed 28 days of
Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART). Common reason for not reporting
was not been aware of the Infection Control Team (ICT) in 10 (30.3%). Conclusion: There is a need for improved training
and close supervision of interns.
Cite this paper
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