Table 1

Characteristics of 557 HCW reporting occupational exposures at an urban teaching hospital in Pune, India, 2003–2005

Characteristic
Total
N = 557 (%)
High-risk#
N = 339 (%)
Low-risk
N = 211 (%)
p

Median Age, years (range)
23 (18–58)
23 (18–58)
23 (18–57)
0.2
Male
295 (53.2)
178 (52.8)
112 (53.1)
0.33
Occupation




     Intern
296 (53.1)
159 (46.9)
134 (63.5)
0.0001
     Resident
127 (22.8)
84 (24.8)
42 (19.9)
0.19
     Nurse
42 (7.5)
28 (8.3)
13 (6.2)
0.36
     Student Nurse
33 (5.9)
24 (7.1)
9 (4.3)
0.18
     Other
59 (10.6)
38 (11.2)
11 (5.2)
0.02
Department




     Medicine
150 (26.9)
101 (29.8)
49 (23.2)
0.09
     Obstetrics/Gynecology
132 (23.7)
67 (19.8)
63 (29.9)
0.008
     Casualty (emergency room)
96 (17.2)
49 (14.5)
46 (21.8)
0.03
     Surgery
84 (15.1)
57 (16.8)
26 (12.3)
0.15
     Pediatrics
30 (5.4)
16 (4.7)
14 (6.6)
0.34
     Other
58(10.4)
44 (13.0)
11 (5.2)
0.003
Median time between exposure and reporting (n = 329) hours:minutes(range)
0:30 (0–122:30)
0:30 (0–122:30)
0:30 (0–23:56)
0.88
     Reporting within 24 hours
313 (95.1)
149 (97.3)
164 (100)
0.56
Wound cleaned stat
523 (93.9)
314 (92.6)
203 (96.2)
0.13
Personal protective equipment used
307 (55.1)
182 (53.7)
124 (58.8)
0.25
     Gloves
279 (50.1)
165 (48.7)
113 (53.6)
0.26
     Mask
52 (9.3)
31 (9.1)
20 (9.5)
0.89
     Gown
51 (9.2)
30 (8.8)
20 (9.5)
0.80
     Eyewear
18 (3.2)
8 (2.4)
10 (4.7)
0.13
     Other
5 (0.9)
5 (1.5)
0 (0.0)
0.54
Hepatitis B Vaccination/job category (% vaccinated)
424 (76.1)
249 (73.5)
172 (81.5)
0.03
     Intern
238 (80.4)
125 (78.6)
111 (82.8)
0.0003
     Resident
111 (89.5)
72 (85.7)
39 (92.8)
0.43
     Student Nurse
22 (66.7)
14 (58.3)
8 (88.9)
0.84
     Nurse
26 (61.9)
18 (64.3)
8 (57.1)
0.41
     Other
25 (42.4)
19 (50.0)
6 (54.5)
0.13
Exposure characteristic




Percutaneous
452 (81.1)
280 (82.6)
160 (75.8)
0.05
     More severe
159 (28.5)
107 (31.6)
49 (23.2)
0.03
     Needle stick
420 (75.4)
256 (75.5)
152 (74.1)
0.36
          Hollow needle
280 (66.7)
175 (68.4)
105 (69.1)
0.67
          Solid needle
111 (26.4)
66 (25.8)
45 (29.6)
0.60
          Unknown/not reported
29 (6.9)
15 (5.9)
2 (1.3)
0.02
     Laceration
34 (6.1)
24 (7.3)
8 (3.9)
0.11
Mucocutaneous
105 (18.8)
51 (15.4)
45 (22.0)
0.06
     Large volume
13 (12.4)
6 (11.8)
4 (9.8)
0.91
     Small volume
91 (86.7)
45 (88.2)
41 (91.1)
0.05
Exposed to blood
489 (87.8)
286 (84.4)
200 (94.8)
0.0002
Exposed worker activity




     Handling sharp during procedure
331 (59.4)
217 (64.0)
114 (54.0)
0.02
     Handling sharp after procedure
98 (17.6)
58 (17.1)
40 (19.0)
0.58
     Recapping
46 (8.3)
30 (8.8)
16 (7.6)
0.60
     Disposing equipment
30 (5.4)
12 (3.5)
18 (8.5)
0.01
     Sharp left around/not safely disposed
31 (5.6)
5 (1.5)
8 (3.8)
0.08
     Other
21 (3.8)
8 (2.4)
13 (6.2)
0.02

*Not all percentages add to 100% as some data were missing

#High risk exposure defined as an exposure for which PEP is recommended and includes: (1) cases in which source tested or was known to be HIV positive, (2) cases where source was judged to be at high risk for HIV by clinicians, and (3) cases where source status and/or risk for HIV remained unknown.

Gupta et al. BMC Infectious Diseases 2008 8:142   doi:10.1186/1471-2334-8-142