Incidence and frequency of mucocutaneous exposure and percutaneous injuries in Greek nurses: are they protected enough?

Abstract

Background: Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids by sharps and needlestick injuries is common among healthcare workers, resulting in over 1,000 infections per year. Aim: To estimate the incidence and frequency of occupational exposure among nurses in correlation to their hepatitis B immunization levels. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey, performed between May and September 2008 in 17 Greek public hospitals. Results: Overall, 72% of nurses reported at least one type of exposure (mucocutaneous or percutaneous) within their professional career. Of these, 51% had at least one mucous membrane exposure, whereas 65.2% had sustained at least one needlestick injury, only 19.7% of which had reported it to the Infections Control Department. In total, 63.2% of nurses reported that they were protected through hepatitis B vaccination. Conclusions: The rates of occupational exposure presented in this study are particularly high. Further, a significant percentage of healthcare workers are not protected against hepatitis B infection.