title: Practical techniques to enhance the safety of health care workers in office-based surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Office-based surgery is commonly practiced in different specialties for a variety of procedures. During these procedures, the health care worker (HCW) is exposed to a large number of pathogens that can be bloodborne, including the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These pathogens can be transmitted through needlesticks or sharp injuries to intact skin or by backsplash of contaminated body fluids onto mucous membranes or injured skin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article reviews the published techniques designed to protect the HCW from such hazards. These techniques are classified into preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative. Preoperative measures include general protective measures, organization of the surgical field, and consideration of alternative treatments in high-risk patients. Intraoperative techniques deal with safe handling and transferring of sharp instruments, working without using sharps, and protection from backspray injuries. Postoperative measures address proper disposal of used sharps.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. kmgderm@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Khalid M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Alghamdi
authors.forename: Rayan A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Alkhodair
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D011482:Protective Devices; D013536:Suture Techniques; D013594:Syringes; D016635:Universal Precautions