Removing needle from syringe

Cattitude · Mar 3, 2007

i knew i shouldn't have come back in here..........
a) anyone can be tested at any time for hiv....not just after a suspected exposure. in fact, if an exposure is suspected, immediate testing is strongly suggested to verify that the pt is indeed negative now.
b) explain how this isn't medical????????

tazzi darlin', we're not getting the answers we need to hear. i'm really giving up now. :banghead: :banghead:

[color=#483d8b]

TazziRN, RN · Mar 3, 2007

:banghead: :banghead:

No wonder I have a headache........

GM1987 · Mar 3, 2007

He actually got tested a few days later and called me saying he's HIV negative. I had to give him the bad news that catching it is not like getting the flu and that he has to wait it out...

Getting poked with a "needle" that is stuck on a door handle is nothing compared to getting poked with an actual hypodermic needle/syringe contaminated with actual HIV+ blood. That's what I meant with a medical situation and hence the 0.3% statistic which is given to medical professionals.

I can imagine that dropping outside of a health care setting - especially since no one has been infected outside of the health care (at least that's what the CDC states).

Being a student who is pursuing this career rigorously, I took everything as a potential risk and hence my questions.

tvccrn, ASN, RN · Mar 3, 2007

However, being a student you have an air of not using your critical thinking skills when dealing with your friend.

1. He got stuck with something sharp and didn't look closely to see what it was.

2. He didn't tell anyone in the public place where he was stuck with something sharp about it.

3. He was (?) able to see the clear (?) tape a week later as he was driving by this same facility and still told no one at the facility about it.

All this points to one of two things: either this is something that didn't really happen or this was a very, very minor thing that has gotten blown way too far out of proportion.

As a student you should have realized all this by now and had a good talk to your "friend".

tvccrn

TazziRN, RN · Mar 3, 2007

However, being a student you have an air of not using your critical thinking skills when dealing with your friend.
1. He got stuck with something sharp and didn't look closely to see what it was.
2. He didn't tell anyone in the public place where he was stuck with something sharp about it.
3. He was (?) able to see the clear (?) tape a week later as he was driving by this same facility and still told no one at the facility about it.
All this points to one of two things: either this is something that didn't really happen or this was a very, very minor thing that has gotten blown way too far out of proportion.
As a student you should have realized all this by now and had a good talk to your "friend".
tvccrn

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

I didn't have the nerve to say it.

GM1987 · Mar 3, 2007

What's with the quotation marks around "friend?"

I told my friend that if he didn't see a needle, there probably wasn't one.

Since he's under some major stress, this could be a major issue related to anxiety/paranoia and the last thing I want to tell him is - Yeah, you got HIV!

And in the following case where lets say, a "needle" was placed - why is the clear plastic tape still around the door handle after a couple of days?

Because no one has noticed it? Someone has removed the "needle" and still kept the tape?

That calmed him down. Nevertheless, being a student, I worry about my "friend" and hence my questions. Aren't we supposed to take every incident as a potential risk?

tvccrn, ASN, RN · Mar 4, 2007

The reason for the quotation marks is that I am having a very, very hard time believing that this is a real episode.

It sounds to me like one of the eithical dilemmas that classes would put out there to see what the students could come up with.

If it is real then, not only should the friend get medical advice from a physician about this situation, they should get a clue about how a normal reasonable person would be expected to react to it.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but after all this discussion without any real answers to the behavior of the person in questions I am getting to the point that I'm not able to be nice about my thoughts on this.

tvccrn

pinoyrn · Mar 4, 2007

I have heard of two incidences similar to yours. The nurses involved did the antiretroviral drugs ASAP and was followed for months by employee health. Fortunately, they didn't seroconvert. It is a reality in our profession, unfortunately.

GM1987 · Mar 4, 2007

tvccrn, I appreciate your help and I can assure you that this is not some kind of a scenario.

I posted on this forum because medical professionals get needle pricks more than anyone else and I wanted to see, if this "needle" was to have HIV/HCV, what the chances of transmission would be based on medical professional experience.

The actions of my friend may seem weird but would anything change if I was to say that "Yes, he did report it and the head nurse told him that chances of transmission with the known HIV infected blood are 0.3%?"

Those are just statistics and don't help much...

Speaking with people that have been there/done that is so much better.

TazziRN, RN · Mar 4, 2007

Speaking with people that have been there/done that is so much better.

Nonononononono........we haven't "been there/done that".......WE would not have handled it the way this was. I'm sorry, but no matter how much fear your friend had/has about this, his actions were not normal.

GM1987 · Mar 4, 2007

Like I said, the main focus of this thread was to gain some insight from people who have been/known people that have been pricked by a needle contaminated with HIV+ blood and the +- outcomes which have resulted from such action.

Actually, he did report it. The incidentt was investigated. They told him that the needle had HIV+ blood and that chances of transmission were likely. He tested that day, result came back negative. He has to go back at the 6 week mark and another at the 13 week mark.

Can we get back on topic regarding transmission risks? :rolleyes:

TazziRN, RN · Mar 4, 2007

Okay, now this is getting fishy! First you say he didn't report it. Now he has. First you say he didn't know if it was a needle or not, that he just thought it was a needle because of fear. Now you say he knows it was a needle and that it tested positive for HIV-tainted blood.

Wanna get the story straight??