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.