and yet another

This incident really counts as a valid needlestick injury. My patient has an autoimmune disease, we were suppose to start an intrajugular catheter. It was my third time assisting in the mini-OR for the insertion. The procedure went well. After the procedure he wanted to test the patency of the catheter. After checking the patency, he passed the syringe to me without a cap on. I dont know how it happened but it grazed my thumb and I felt it pierce to my gloves. When I removed my gloves, I saw the site. I let it bleed. I washed it. My patient is negative for hbsag. My patient was pancytopenic. He also undergoes dialysis. Sadly, this public institution has no protocol for these cases. I do not know what to do. Please support me and message me fellow nurses
Autoimmune, and immune deficiency aren't the same thing. OSHA requires follow up for needle sticks- if your job is being irresponsible, you can go to the county health department for follow up- and reporting any absence of OSHA required follow up with them.... Even though it's not immune deficiency, I would think there should be some follow up lab work now, and in 3 months (not sure of the exact timeline).....also, call your PCP..... I'm sorry this happened, but it sounds fairly low risk unless there are other things going on. I have never heard of autoimmune diseases being transmitted via needle sticks

needle stick injury at your facility has no protocol to follow? How about go to your ED and tell them needle stick injury on the job. They will assess your risk and go from there.If you don't work at a facility that has an ED and you're concerned, go to the nearest ED. I'd have it documented, either way, if it were me. Better to be seen where that patient is.... but by the time you wrote this, you hadn't been seen, that patient might be discharged, so testing them for HIB/HIV wouldn't be an option.... you need to follow up with your employee health for sure too.http://www.who.int/occupational_heal...s/5prevent.pdf

OSHA requirements for employers if they have an employee with possible exposure to blood born pathogens..... http://www.orprecautions.com/needlestickact.htmlhttp://www.infectioncontroltoday.com...ompliance.aspxOSHA doesn't "suggest" what it requires to be done for needlesticks, it fines facilities for not doing them....if your employer gives you many trouble w/this, find OSHA's website, and file a complaint.

Quote from NewlyGradBSNThis incident really counts as a valid needlestick injury. My patient has an autoimmune disease, we were suppose to start an intrajugular catheter. It was my third time assisting in the mini-OR for the insertion. The procedure went well. After the procedure he wanted to test the patency of the catheter. After checking the patency, he passed the syringe to me without a cap on. I dont know how it happened but it grazed my thumb and I felt it pierce to my gloves. When I removed my gloves, I saw the site. I let it bleed. I washed it. My patient is negative for hbsag. My patient was pancytopenic. He also undergoes dialysis. Sadly, this public institution has no protocol for these cases. I do not know what to do. Please support me and message me fellow nurses

the client has sle, is it possible that she has hiv also??( I feel depressed.

Please contact the OSHA to file a report. Contact your Primary careMD and inform him or her of your injury at work and your report to the CDC.This lack of policy is also putting other workers at risk as well as theycare for their patients.

OSHA is for the US, I am not in the U.S. so it is not within their scope.

where do you live??

Quote from NewlyGradBSNthe client has sle, is it possible that she has hiv also??( I feel depressed.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/332244-overviewit's an autoimmune disease, can't see why you'd jump to HIV.... you don't "catch" SLE, but you do with HIV/HIB.....remember HIV is ACQUIRED.

Quote from NewlyGradBSNthe client has sle, is it possible that she has hiv also??( I feel depressed.

Had a frightening needle-stick back in the mid-90s. Working @ level 1 trauma center in large eastern city. Pt brought to my ICU with head injuries (beaten with pipe). Pt was young African-American male and is very androgynously dressed, skin and hair carefully made-up, nails polished. To a cynical old b#st@rd like me it said 'male prostitute' in large letters. I was starting an IV to draw some early labs and to replace the EMS line, using the familiar 'angio-cath' with the spring loaded inner stylet. At that moment he had a seizure and drove the stylet into the septum of my left thumb. There it hung with his blood filling the flash-back chamber and mine dripping down the length of the stylet. DAMN, I thought. I'm never going to have sex again. (Actually -- that's the honest truth. Didn't think -- I'm going to get AIDS. Thought --- sex is over.)Amazingly, that young man turned out to be negative for anything!! No HIV. No Hepatitis. Nothing. And after being tested for 18months, I had nothing also. But here's what I thought you'd want to know, NewlyGrad. There turns out to be a secret 'club' of people who've suffered needle-sticks and similar. Many nurses and also many Lab and Resp people. Very very few people actually 'convert' to positive status. It turns out that it's actually NOT so likely that you'll get HIV from a needle stick. You should of course be tested. I understand there are anti-virals you could get as prophylaxis -- and I would advise you to pursue that vigorously. And the pt should be tested. But you don't need to have extreme fear or depression. Lots of us have had worse needle-stick injuries and never got sick. Hope this helps.Good luck to you.PapawJohn