title: Percutaneous injuries and accidental blood exposure in surgical residents: awareness and use of prophylaxis in relation to HIV.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the occurrence of percutaneous injuries (PI) and accidental exposure to patients' blood (AEPB) in surgical residents in Enugu, Nigeria, their awareness of universal precautions (UP), and use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administered semi-structured pre-tested questionnaires were administered to 230 consenting trainee surgeons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of exposure to PI/ABE was 67.5%. The number of exposures ranged from 1 to 5 with a mean of 1.9 ± 0.99. Senior registrars had the highest rate of exposure (76.9%). In 89 exposures (63.6%) needle-prick injuries were reported. Adequate knowledge of the UP and PEP to HIV virus was only 41%. In most cases (72.1%) respondents subsequently disregarded the exposure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high rate of exposure to PI/ABE, inadequate knowledge and poor practice of UP/PEP seen in this study underscore the need for creating high level of awareness about UP/PEP, the development of clear institutional guideline and the provision of adequate materials and supervision to ensure adherence with the guideline. The practice of UP and PEP in PI and AEPB are life saving and should be emphasized in residency training.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. ogoonwankwo@yahoo.com
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Nwankwo
authors.forename: U U
authors.initials: UU
authors.lastname: Aniebue
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000517:prevention & control; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009549:Nigeria; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056990:Post-Exposure Prophylaxis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016635:Universal Precautions; D055815:Young Adult