PEDIATRICS Vol. 84 No. 2 August 1989, pp. 211-214
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Melzer, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Shelov, S. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Melzer, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Shelov, S. P.

Needle Injuries Among Pediatric Housestaff Physicians in New York City

Sanford M. Melzer MD1, Sten H. Vermund MD, MSc2, and Steven P. Shelov MD3

1 The Department of Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
2 The Department of Epidemiology, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
3 The Department of Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York

Concerns regarding accidental needle puncture wounds, needle injuries among house officers have increased following reports of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission via this route. Pediatric house officers training in areas with large numbers of children infected with HIV may face a significant risk of occupational HIV infection via needle injury. The cumulative incidence of needle injury among pediatric house officers in New York who completed at least 1 year of training was ascertained. A questionnaire designed to elicit retrospective information regarding needle injuries was completed by 294 house officers in medical school-affiliated pediatric training programs. A total of 205 (69.7%) had stuck themselves or been stuck with a needle contaminated with a patient's blood, and 48 (17%) reported a needle injury involving a needle contaminated with the blood of a patient with suspected HIV infection. Only 11 of the 48 had received counselling or HIV testing following their possible HIV exposure. These data indicate that needle injury among pediatric house officers in New York is common. Reducing occupational risk is an especially compelling policy issue for pediatric training programs in areas where HIV is endemic.

Key Words: needle injury • human immunodeficiency virus • residency training • puncture wounds

Submitted on November 23, 1988
Accepted on February 17, 1989




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch Intern MedHome page
S. D. Datta, G. L. Armstrong, A. J. Roome, and M. J. Alter
Blood Exposures and Hepatitis C Virus Infections Among Emergency Responders
Arch Intern Med, November 24, 2003; 163(21): 2605 - 2610.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JWatch GeneralHome page
ACCIDENTAL NEEDLE STICKS AMONG HOUSE STAFF
Journal Watch (General), August 15, 1989; 1989(815): 4 - 4.
[Full Text]