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Had An Accidental Prick From Diabetic Patient's Lancet. What Should I Do?

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Posted on Mon, 9 Dec 2013
Question: I am a Nurse who had a accidental prick from my diabetic patient's lancet on my Per- diem homecare job. I wore gloves. i didnt see blood when i tokk off my gloves until i squeezed my finger, a tiny speck of blood appeared. i immediately washed my hands with soap and water, dried my hands and used my hand sanitizer. i was in shock, finshed my visit. Last night i started getting emotional an anxious. My patients is 77 yrs old. had a CVA in 2002, and in Sept. Had left hemiplegia. No history of HIV and HCV. Pmh: DM, CHF, GERD,hypothyroidism,CAD with PPM implanted this year. i have been vaccinated for Hep B since 1993, at the onset of my career. what is your Medical opinion of this and your recommendation?
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Answered by Dr. Roopa Hiremath (43 minutes later)
Brief Answer: Needle stick injuries Detailed Answer: Hi, Welcome to health care magic. I have gone through your query and I understand your anxiety as needle stick injury is one of the common routes of infection in health care workers. The pathogens of concern in body fluid occupational exposure include HIV, Hepatitis A,B,C and D. You have rightly checked the patient's medical history for the above mentioned pathogens and as you were wearing gloves, the volume of exposure to patient's body fluid is drastically reduced. You have also followed the correct procedure after a needle stick injury where you are supposed to wash the wound with running water and soap. Squeezing of the injured finger is avoided as there are chances of the infected fluid getting into the wound by capillary action. The next step would be determination of exposure code and status code if patient is HIV positive. As the patient status is known and confirmed to be HIV negative, there is no need to worry about this episode. Coming to your Hep B vaccination, if you have taken the complete course of vaccine with boosters then you do not require any immunizations as of now. I hope I have cleared all your doubts. Please get back if any clarifications. Thanks.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Roopa Hiremath

Infectious Diseases Specialist

Practicing since :2002

Answered : 877 Questions

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Had An Accidental Prick From Diabetic Patient's Lancet. What Should I Do?

Brief Answer: Needle stick injuries Detailed Answer: Hi, Welcome to health care magic. I have gone through your query and I understand your anxiety as needle stick injury is one of the common routes of infection in health care workers. The pathogens of concern in body fluid occupational exposure include HIV, Hepatitis A,B,C and D. You have rightly checked the patient's medical history for the above mentioned pathogens and as you were wearing gloves, the volume of exposure to patient's body fluid is drastically reduced. You have also followed the correct procedure after a needle stick injury where you are supposed to wash the wound with running water and soap. Squeezing of the injured finger is avoided as there are chances of the infected fluid getting into the wound by capillary action. The next step would be determination of exposure code and status code if patient is HIV positive. As the patient status is known and confirmed to be HIV negative, there is no need to worry about this episode. Coming to your Hep B vaccination, if you have taken the complete course of vaccine with boosters then you do not require any immunizations as of now. I hope I have cleared all your doubts. Please get back if any clarifications. Thanks.