Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Needlestick injuries that occur in children from discarded needles in community settings, such as parks and playgrounds, are especially concerning. While the exact number of needlestick injuries in children in the US is unknown, even one injury in a child is enough to cause public alarm.
Post-exposure prophylaxis, also known as post-exposure prevention (PEP), is any preventive medical treatment started after exposure to a pathogen in order to prevent the infection from occurring. It should be contrasted with pre-exposure prophylaxis , which is used before the patient has been exposed to the infective agent.
A course of antiretrovirals administered within 48 to 72 hours after exposure to HIV-positive blood or genital secretions is referred to as post-exposure prophylaxis. [52] The use of the single agent zidovudine reduces the risk of subsequent HIV infection fivefold following a needle stick injury. [52]
AZT prophylaxis prevented more than 1000 parental and infant deaths from AIDS in the United States. [22] In the U.S. at that time, the accepted standard of care for HIV-positive mothers was known as the 076 regimen and involved five daily doses of AZT from the second trimester onwards, as well as AZT intravenously administered during labour. [ 23 ]
Efavirenz is also used in combination with other antiretroviral agents as part of an expanded post-exposure prophylaxis regimen to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people exposed to a significant risk (e.g. needlestick injuries, certain types of unprotected sex, etc.).
The risk of acquiring HIV from a needle stick from an HIV-infected person is estimated as 0.3% (about 1 in 333) per act and the risk following mucous membrane exposure to infected blood as 0.09% (about 1 in 1000) per act. [54] This risk may, however, be up to 5% if the introduced blood was from a person with a high viral load and the cut was ...
Covered topics included the public health rationale behind NEPs (71%), police occupational health (67%), needle stick injury (62%), NEPs' legal status (57%), and harm reduction philosophy (67%). On average, training was seen as moderately effective, but only four programmes reported conducting any formal evaluation.
The more effective safety syringes have reuse and needlestick prevention features. A sheath or hood slides over the needle after the injection is completed with a Needlestick Prevention Syringe, which also has a re-use prevention feature (either an auto disable mechanism or breaking plunger).