title: Assessment of preventive measures for accidental blood exposure in operating theaters: a survey of 20 hospitals in Northern France.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accidental exposures to blood of body fluids (ABE) expose health care workers (HCW) to the risk of occupational infection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to assess the prevention equipment available in the operating theater (OT) with reference to guidelines or recommendations and its use by the staff in that OT on that day and past history of ABE.
  
  
  METHODS
  Correspondents of the Centre de Coordination de la Lutte contre les Infections Nosocomiales (CCLIN) Paris-Nord ABE Surveillance Taskforce carried out an observational multicenter survey in 20 volunteer French hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 260 operating staff (including 151 surgeons) were investigated. Forty-nine of the 260 (18.8%) staff said they double-gloved for all patients and procedures, changing gloves hourly. Blunt-tipped suture needles were available in 49.1% of OT; 42 of 76 (55.3%) of the surgeons in these OT said they never used them. Overall, 60% and 64% of surgeons had never self-tested for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), respectively. Fifty-five surgeons said they had sustained a total of 96 needlestick injuries during the month preceding the survey. Ten of these surgeons had notified of 1 needlestick injury each to the occupational health department of their hospital (notification rate, 10.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The occurrence of needlestick injury remained high in operating personnel in France in 2000. Although hospitals may improve access to protective devices, operating staff mindful of safety in the OT should increase their use of available devices, their knowledge of their own serostatus, and their ABE notification rate to guide well-targeted prevention efforts.
authors.affiliation: CCLIN Paris-Nord, Institut Biomédical des Cordeliers, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarantola
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Golliot
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: L'Heriteau
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lebascle
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Danièle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farret
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bignon
authors.forename: Amar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smaïl
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doutrellot-Philippon
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Astagneau
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouvet
mesh_terms: D005602:France; D005932:Gloves, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009873:Operating Rooms / Q000592:standards*; D016635:Universal Precautions / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*