So...I'm driving myself crazy :*) 1 Week ago tomorrow I walked into my patient room and started a 20 gauge PIV, somehow I managed to stick myself (superficial) in the high side/ at the main tip of my index finger. I immediately bled it, clensed with alcohol, soap, and water. I asked my patient if she had ever been exposed/diagnosed with HIV/Hepatitis C---she said "Well no but I have had Shingles"--I thought that was cute. Anyway, she is 57 years old--had church family in her room as well as her own family, kids, and grandchildren. Her history includes lymphoma , HTN, Osteoperosis, Degenerative Disc Disease. She possibly was in the ER for a pulmonary embolism and she has kidney stones. She has been a patient at our hospital for a long time, she visits her doctor regularly and always has a CBC/BMP drawn for her lymphoma. She has been seen three times this year at our hospital and comes back in a week for kidney stone surgery. She has also had a hip replacement. So...I am 5 months pregnant. I asked other nurses they didn't think it was anything to worry about. I should have reported it but guess I felt crazy b/c it was a stupid mistake. I realize the only stupid thing was not reporting it. I know God watches over me while I'm at work and he is protecting me. But...I am an advid worrier aboout everything!!! What do you all think? Do you think I'm in the clear that everything is okay? I just need to hear from people I don't know rather than people I do know b/c of course everyone I have told at work were all like "it's fine, there is nothing to worry about!" But...I am driving myself crazy!
"I realize the only stupid thing was not reporting it." Quote from original post
That's correct, and you can still do that, by emailing (if your facility is technologically advanced enough) or telephoning the Infection Control Nurse, pronto and filling out the report form. When I had that job, I left those forms on all units, where they could be easily found. It will only make you look good to do that!
Not reporting the occasion is denial and unprofessional. You did everything else well, and I hope your patient is available for the HIV antibody and HepC tests that are necessary. You should be tested for the HIV antigen (which shows up months sooner than antibodies, allowing treatment to be given sooner, if necessary) and Hep C. It's extremely important that you have those baseline tests ASAP, for credibility if (God forbid) those diseases occur later.
While I worked in IC, I was actually in ICU when a careless nurse who used her hands wildly while talking, had an exposed needle in her hand that she'd just removed when DC'g a patient's IV. A quite pregnant nurse walked by right then, and got jabbed with the dirty needle in her protruding abdomen. I reassured her, the patient reassured her about having no possible exposure to HIV, and I had to twist his doctor's arm to get his patient's HIV test done (HepC hadn't been recognized yet).
However, I counselled her about using condoms (which her husband refused to do, to protect himself, "in case"..........It was the early '80s, when HIV had just come on the medical scene in this country and precautions for "safe" sex came out, along with a few "sharps" containers (kept in med rooms). Gloves weren't used much, except by trash handlers. I still had a lot of work to do.
I was the one most surprised when the patient's test came back positive! He'd developed a surgical infection following his cholecystectomy, which was why he ended up in ICU, and I was there investigating that. The exposed nurse's test was reported negative, and we repeated it at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months (the protocol then, as only antibody tests were available). No intrusion into the nurse's uterus had occurred, and she lived happily ever after (as far as I know).
I had an incident lately, but it wasn't a needle stick. I'm hoping some one will give shed some light for me on my situation. I'm also worried about filing an incident report because I've already made one incident report a couple of months ago, and I feel filing another will make me look incompetent or make me possibly lose my job. I really don't feel I'm at risk, but I'm worrying a little about it.
What happened......I was removing the heplock IV from a pt with Aids, Hep C. When removing the IV, the tape was sticking a little too good. The IV suddenly popped out and I felt a little fluid splash on my face. I didn't feel it in my eyes or on my lips, but on my cheek area; I immediately went to scrub my face and wash my eyes out, just in case.
I later looked at the heplock and it didn't have much blood if any at all. I feel like it was just IV fluid that I vaguely felt splash my face, but I'm unsure. I'm so scared to file another incident report. I just feel that it will make me look bad and this incident report filing goes down as workmens comp claims. I really didn't feel this fluid get in my eyes at all.
As long as you had no skin tears or pimples on that cheek, you weren't really exposed. It's the same as sticking yourself with a clean needle. Body fluids from the patient haven't penetrated your body (unless the skin was open), so relax. Next time you do a procedure like that, which could expose you to blood/body fluids, wear a face shield (and gloves, of course)!
It was good that you took the action you did, in case.....
It's always best to report exposures, if/when you have them, for the financial factor if you came down with a disease to which you were exposed at work, and it is financially crippling. In this case you probably can skip that. In the future, however, don't hesitate to fill in the Exposure to Infectious Disease form, and put it in a sealed envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL, with the IC nurse's name on it. That is not the same as an Incident Report, so don't fear for your job. The IC nurse files those completed forms in a locked drawer, and keeps confidentiality at all times. That information is no one else's business, unless you had an injury as a result of it, that needed to be seen in Emergency.
FYI: a coworker in 1993 stuck her palm through and through with a bloody scalpel of a known AIDS patient while she was still nursing her newborn. She's still fine. :) Hope this helps you feel a little better
Thank you for the replies. I find myself worrying a little know and then, and then say to myself, relax, it's nothing to worry about. I guess I was just born to worry. I'm going to go get a pair of eye glasses to wear at work, I've heard they offer some protection, besides, I'm getting to the age that I need a little assistance from a pair of lenses. A nurse I work with said she was glad her glasses were on one day when lots of poop came her way. LOL
, HTN, Osteoperosis, Degenerative Disc Disease. She possibly was in the ER for a pulmonary embolism and she has kidney stones. She has been a patient at our hospital for a long time, she visits her doctor regularly and always has a CBC/BMP drawn for her lymphoma. She has been seen three times this year at our hospital and comes back in a week for kidney stone surgery. She has also had a hip replacement. So...I am 5 months pregnant. I asked other nurses they didn't think it was anything to worry about. I should have reported it but guess I felt crazy b/c it was a stupid mistake. I realize the only stupid thing was not reporting it. I know God watches over me while I'm at work and he is protecting me. But...I am an advid worrier aboout everything!!! What do you all think? Do you think I'm in the clear that everything is okay? I just need to hear from people I don't know rather than people I do know b/c of course everyone I have told at work were all like "it's fine, there is nothing to worry about!" But...I am driving myself crazy!
lamazeteacher
2,170 Posts
"I realize the only stupid thing was not reporting it." Quote from original post
That's correct, and you can still do that, by emailing (if your facility is technologically advanced enough) or telephoning the Infection Control Nurse, pronto and filling out the report form. When I had that job, I left those forms on all units, where they could be easily found. It will only make you look good to do that!
Not reporting the occasion is denial and unprofessional. You did everything else well, and I hope your patient is available for the HIV antibody and HepC tests that are necessary. You should be tested for the HIV antigen (which shows up months sooner than antibodies, allowing treatment to be given sooner, if necessary) and Hep C. It's extremely important that you have those baseline tests ASAP, for credibility if (God forbid) those diseases occur later.
While I worked in IC, I was actually in ICU when a careless nurse who used her hands wildly while talking, had an exposed needle in her hand that she'd just removed when DC'g a patient's IV. A quite pregnant nurse walked by right then, and got jabbed with the dirty needle in her protruding abdomen. I reassured her, the patient reassured her about having no possible exposure to HIV, and I had to twist his doctor's arm to get his patient's HIV test done (HepC hadn't been recognized yet).
However, I counselled her about using condoms (which her husband refused to do, to protect himself, "in case"..........It was the early '80s, when HIV had just come on the medical scene in this country and precautions for "safe" sex came out, along with a few "sharps" containers (kept in med rooms). Gloves weren't used much, except by trash handlers. I still had a lot of work to do.
I was the one most surprised when the patient's test came back positive! He'd developed a surgical infection following his cholecystectomy, which was why he ended up in ICU, and I was there investigating that. The exposed nurse's test was reported negative, and we repeated it at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months (the protocol then, as only antibody tests were available). No intrusion into the nurse's uterus had occurred, and she lived happily ever after (as far as I know).