title: Fulminant hepatic failure due to acute hepatitis B and delta co-infection: probable bloodborne transmission associated with a spring-loaded fingerstick device.
abstract: Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) due to acute hepatitis B and delta co-infection occurred in a 74-yr-old female, who eventually died. There was no clear-cut epidemiology other than probable bloodborne transmission from a contaminated spring-loaded fingerstick device used for glucose determination, in an outpatient facility. This unusual mode of transmission reiterates the importance of using sterile cleansing and disposal procedures anytime there is a possibility of contamination with blood.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Di Prima
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Jeffers
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Schiff
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000209:etiology*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000635:transmission; D003699:Hepatitis D / Q000150:complications* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans