REPORTING OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES TO BLOOD-BORNE PATHOGENS IN AUSTRALIAN TEACHING HOSPITALS

Objective: To describe the reporting of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids in Australian reaching hospitals. Design: Survey by questionnaire of the major teaching hospitals in Australia, December 1992. Results: Completed questionnaires were received from 88% of the 69 teaching hospitals in Australia. All responding hospitals reported an established procedure for reporting and managing occupational exposures to blood and body fluids and 82% indicated willingness to contribute data to a national monitoring project. Information concerning the actual incident was recorded by all hospitals and two-thirds of hospitals had forms which specifically detailed exposure history. Patient and healthcare worker risk factors for HIV were recorded less frequently but in 87% of hospitals blood tests were performed on both the staff member and source patient. Among 87026 equivalent full time staff employed by the responding hospitals, 5803 injuries were reported in 1991. The median number of reported injuries as a percentage of equivalent full time staff was 7%. Estimates of non-reporting ranged for 5% to 70% (median 25%). Prophylactic zidovudine was prescribed for 50 staff from 21 hospitals in 1991. Conclusions: All Australian teaching hospitals have an established procedure for documenting occupational exposure to blood and body fluids. Although there is limited standardisation at a national level the information already collected and the willingness to participate indicated by a large number of teaching hospitals are sufficient for a national surveillance mechanism to the established.