Clinical treatment adherence of health care workers and students exposed to potentially infectious biological material

• Main Authors: Maria Cristina Mendes de Almeida, Silvia Rita Marin da Silva Canini, Renata Karina Reis, Silmara Elaine Malaguti Toffano, Fernanda Maria Vieira Pereira, Elucir Gir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2015-04-01
• Series: Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP
• Subjects: Exposición a Agentes Biológicos; Exposición Profesional; Accidentes de Trabajo; Personal de salud; Estudiantes del Área de la Salud
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0080-62342015000200259&lng=en&tlng=en

OBJECTIVE To assess adherence to clinical appointments by health care workers (HCW) and students who suffered accidents with potentially infectious biological material. METHOD A retrospective cross-sectional study that assessed clinical records of accidents involving biological material between 2005 and 2010 in a specialized unit. RESULTS A total of 461 individuals exposed to biological material were treated, of which 389 (84.4%) were HCWs and 72 (15.6%) students. Of the 461 exposed individuals, 307 (66.6%) attended a follow-up appointment. Individuals who had suffered an accident with a known source patient were 29 times more likely to show up to their scheduled follow-up appointments (OR: 29.98; CI95%: 16.09-55.83). CONCLUSION The predictor in both univariate and multivariate analyses for adherence to clinical follow-up appointment was having a known source patient with nonreactive serology for the human immunodeficiency virus and/or hepatitis B and C.