title: Two cases of accidental transmission of hepatitis C to medical staff.
abstract: Two medical doctors (a 38-year-old male and a 25-year-old female) were admitted to our department with jaundice. They had injured themselves with, respectively, a scalpel and a needle contaminated with anti-hepatitis C virus antibody-positive blood, at 2 and 1.5 months, respectively, prior to admission. They were both suffering from clinically typical acute hepatitis. The polymerase chain reaction showed that hepatitis C RNA and anti-hepatitis C virus antibody were transiently positive in the male doctor, while serum transaminase levels were transiently abnormal. In the female doctor, hepatitis C RNA was initially negative, but became strongly positive, and abnormal serum transaminase levels persisted. Interferon therapy resulted in the hepatitis C RNA's becoming negative again, and the transaminase levels returned to normal. The clinical and other findings strongly suggested that in both patients hepatitis C developed as a result of the respective in-hospital accidents.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsude
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000150:complications; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000150:complications; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000382:microbiology