Medicina Ocupacional y Asuntos de Salud

Abstracto

Occupational Infections among Health Care Workers in a Secondary Care Hospital Saudi Arabia

Abdullah M Assiri, Hanan M Hathout, Manal M Anwar, Mervat M El Dalatony and Nahla M Abdel Kader

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to various infectious agents while performing their duties and many accidental exposures to blood borne and air borne pathogens are preventable if health care workers comply with appropriate precautions. Objectives: Assessment of some occupational exposure among health care workers in a secondary care hospital- Najran province- Saudi Arabia during the period (2009-2012). Subjects and methods: Retrospective review of health care workers’ (HCWs) records from staff health clinic to determine the distribution of occupational infections among different job categories which was confirmed by clinical manifestations, laboratory investigations and reports of needle stick incidents to which HCWs were exposed during period of data collection. Results: The most common occupational infection among healthcare workers was chicken pox. There was low Tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion rate among different professional categories and nurses were the most affected occupational category during the study period as regard exposure to sharp injuries and air borne infections. Conclusions: Management policy and procedures should be directed and implemented to minimize and prevent occupational infections with emphasis on nurses as being the highly affected risk group.