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. 2001 Apr;91(4):636–638. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.4.636

Risk of infection from needle reuse at a phlebotomy center.

T C Porco 1, T J Aragón 1, S E Fernyak 1, S H Cody 1, D J Vugia 1, M H Katz 1, D R Bangsberg 1
PMCID: PMC1446637  PMID: 11291380

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study determined infection risk for HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) from needle reuse at a phlebotomy center that possibly exposed 3810 patients to infection. METHODS: We used a model for the risk of infection per blood draw, supplemented by subsequent testing results from 1699 patients. RESULTS: The highest risk of transmission was for HBV infection: 1.1 x 10(-6) in the best case and 1.2 x 10(-3) in the (unlikely) worst case. Subsequent testing yielded prevalence rates of 0.12%, 0.41%, and 0.88% for HIV, HBV, and HCV, respectively, lower than National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III prevalence estimates. CONCLUSIONS: The infection risk was very low; few, if any, transmissions are likely to have occurred.

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Selected References

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