Lancet Needle Stick

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Psych.

I was testing a patient's blood sugar and the lancet slipped. I was wearing gloves. I squeezed his finger and no blood came out. I had to re-poke him. When I took my gloves off there was a small pinprick of blood. He had a rapid test and came back negative. I had a rapid test the next day and came back negative. Should I have been tested again, or is it because it was a lancet with no visible blood from the patient that I don't need to be tested again?

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Call me crazy, but I probably wouldn't have even bothered getting tested over that.

The rationale is even if you had a known dirty stick from an HIV positive patient, the chances of transmission is less than 1%.

However, what kind of lancet were you using? The only ones I have used are spring loaded and stick so fast I can't wrap my mind around how you got stuck.

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Specializes in Psych.

It was spring loaded. I think it just skimmed the surface of the patient's skin.

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