Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

BDS2 - BAMS > Sharps > Flashcards

Sharps Flashcards

1
Q

name blood borne viruses

A
  • hepatitis B
  • hepatits C
  • HIV
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

how can contamination occurs with exposure or a sharps injury

A
  • needles or sharp objects (eg probes, scalpels) contaminated with blood or bodily fluids piercing or breaking the skin
  • splashing of blood or bodily fluids onto skin that is broken (abraded, chapped, open sores, dermatitis)
  • contamination of eyes, nose or mouth with blood or bodily fluids
  • a human bite that breaks the skin
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

name common sharps injuries

A
  • during IDB, needle goes into thumb
  • adjusting posts, CoCr dentures etc out with the mouth
  • burs or ultrasonic tips left in situ in hand-pieces which are placed at elbow height (legs / arms passing by)
  • slipping luxators
  • anaesthetic spraying from palate
  • unsheathed needles left on messy trays
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

can you pass sharps to the dental nurse to dispose of them

A

no

it is your responsibility to dispose of them yourself

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

looking at the epidemiology in scotland, which BBV poses the highest risk

A

Hepatitis C

highest prevalence in Scotland

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

name people who are likely to have sharps injuries

A

most common to least

  • nurses and healthcare assistants
  • doctors
  • professions allied to medicine
  • dentist / dental nurses
  • others and NK
  • midwife
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what are the possible timings for needlestick injuries to happen

A

most common to least

  • during procedure
  • after procedure and before disposal of sharps
  • during disposal or after disposal
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what should all staff know with regards to management of exposure in the event of a needle stick

A
  • what action to take
  • legal responsibility to report all sharps injuries
  • get injury properly assessed (cannot assess your own injury)
  • where to go for treatment for the injury and follow up
  • how to report the incident so that systems can be revised to reduce future injuries
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what are the steps to how to manage a sharps injury

A

AWARE

Apply pressure and allow to bleed
Wash don't scrub
Assess the type of injury
Risk of source blood?
Establish contact
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is the first thing that should be done with a sharps injury

A

squeeze the injury site to induce bleeding

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

how can you clean the injury site

A

wash affected area with soap and warm running water
do not scrub
treat mucosal surfaces by rinsing with warm water or saline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

when assessing the type of injury, what are the categories

A
  • high risk material
  • significant injury
  • non-significant injury
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what is included in high risk material for a type of injury

A
  • blood and bodily fluids with visible blood

- saliva (if there is no visible blood there is only a risk of HBV [hep C and HIV cannot go through saliva on its own])

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what is included in significant injury for a type of injury

A

ask has it actually breached the skin

  • percutaneous
  • human bite with broken skin (with no visible blood the only risk is HBV [hep C and HIV cannot go through saliva on its own])
  • exposure of broken skin or mucous membrane to blood or bodily fluids
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

who is more at risk of a BBV from a human bite - the person biting or the person being bitten?

A

person who is biting is more at risk of an infection than the person being bitten
- if this person pierces skin and gets blood in their mouth then there is more risk for them

if the person who has been bitten has the other person’s saliva on their skin the risk is little in comparison

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is included in a non-significant injury for a type of injury

A
  • exposure of intact skin
  • superficial graze
    these should still be reported even if there is no risk of injury
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

when is a sharps injury considered a risky injury

A
  • if it breaks the skin [especially with blood contamination]
  • a deep penetrating injury by a device visibly contaminated with blood
  • injury with a device that has previously been placed directly in the source patient’s artery or vein
18
Q

what questions should be asked to work out the risk of the source blood?

A
  • is the patient known to have HIV / AIDS or hepatitis B / C infection
  • is the patient in a high risk group (eg an intravenous drug user?)
  • if HIV positive is that patient on cART?
19
Q

what is cART?

A

combination antiretroviral therapy

20
Q

if the patient has HIV how can their blood not pose a risk

A

if the patient has an undetectable viral load
HIV is not transmissible
U = U

21
Q

list BBV from most infectious to least infectious

A
  • HBV (1/3)
  • HCV (1/30)
  • HIV (1/300)
22
Q

how can you work out the risk of the source blood if you don’t know who the source is

A

take the prevalence of that BBV in Scotland and multiply by the risk of seroconversion

23
Q

who do you have to establish contact with after receiving a sharps injury

A
  • report injury promptly to a senior member of staff
  • call occupational health
  • record injury (accident book and official reporting)
24
Q

employees who have had injuries must be followed up with what

A

prophylaxis
counselling
prevention

25
Q

if you know the source, how should you assess the BBV status of the source

A

test for BBVs or confirm previous results with consent

if patient negative this will provide reassurance to the healthcare worker

26
Q

if the source is unknown or if the source does not consent to testing, how should you assess the BBV status of the source

A

risk assessed based on circumstances and likelihood of BBV
need to think on type of injury
use information you have about the source (if known) from your records

27
Q

how should you assess the BBV status of the recipient (the person who gets the sharps injury)

A
  • look at history of HBV vaccination and response
    > are they partially or fully vaccinated
    > are they a known responder or non-responder
  • history of previous tests for BBVs
  • take baseline bloods for storage
    (blood is taken and stored so at the end of the follow up stage when you have a blood test to indicate if you have BBV or not, the stored blood is also tested to prove the seroconversion is associated with that infection - proves you got infected from that injury and you haven’t had the infection for a while)
28
Q

what is included in post exposure prophylaxis HBV

A

immunoglobulin and / or vaccine

  • hepatits B immune globulin (HBIG) provides an estimated 70-75% protection from HBV infection (gives immediate preventative protection to protect seroconversion)

IF, HBIG indicated administer at the same time or within 24 hours of the first dose of vaccine (but not after 7 days have elapsed since exposure)
[vaccine boosts immunity but won’t happen for a few days]

29
Q

what is the post exposure prophylaxis procedure dependent on

A
  • vaccination status prior to exposure
  • the type of exposure
  • the HBV status of the source
30
Q

where do you go fro more info on the HBV prophylaxis for reported exposure incidents

A

chapter 18 - the green book

31
Q

what is included in post exposure prophylaxis for HIV

A
  • cART
    start within 24 hours of exposure (if indicated)

not routinely recommended if source has confirmed and sustained undetectable viral load
only really recommended if the risk is high

32
Q

what are the common side effect for post exposure prophylaxis for HIV

A
  • head aches
  • fever
  • nausea

not the nicest to take

33
Q

what is included in the follow up after a sharps injury

A
  • follow up should be at least 6-12 weeks after the exposure event
  • if PEP was taken, follow up should be at least 12 weeks from when PEP was stopped
  • a negative test at 12 weeks provides a very high level of confidence of freedom from infection
34
Q

how can occupational exposure to sharps injuries and BBV transmissions be prevented

A
  • Vaccination
  • Elimination of unnecessary needles
    ○ Best thing to prevent sharp injury is to avoid sharps altogether
  • No recapping
  • PEP
  • Sharps containers
  • PPE
  • Raising awareness
  • Safety engineered devices
  • Recording and reporting
  • Work practices
  • Risk assessment
  • Hand hygiene
35
Q

what does the law say about sharps safety

A

EU Council Directive 2010/32/EU the “sharps directive”
Health and safety (sharp instruments in healthcare) regulations 2013
“to achieve the safest possible working environment by preventing injuries involving medical sharps”
This was transcribed into health and safety regulation in 2013

36
Q

who does the regulations about sharps safety apply to?

A
  • Employers and employees
  • Contractors working for HC employer
  • Students / trainees on placement with HC employers
  • Community or hospital pharmacies

Your employers should protect you and you should protect your future employees

37
Q

what is the hierarchy of control for sharp safety from most effective to least effective

A
  • elimination of sharps or substitution (eg blunt tip suture needles)
  • engineering controls (safer sharps devices SSDs) ~ need to justify why you wouldn’t use these devices
  • administration
  • work practices
    > minimal manual manipulation of sharps
    > instruments rather than fingers for suturing
    > puncture resistant containers
  • PPE
38
Q

what are the main requirements from the sharps regulations for employers

A

• Promote the safe use and disposal of medical sharps
○ educate
• Provide information and training for employees
• Respond effectively if an injury occurs
• Review procedures

39
Q

what are the main requirements from the sharps regulations for employees

A

• An employee who receives a sharps injury at work must notify their employer as soon as practicable
○ Duty to report
This is supported by
• Information and training on what to do in the event of a sharps injury

40
Q

how is it possible to still get an injury from safer sharps devices

A
  • if the patient jumps
  • post procedure disposal
    > device can be active or passive
    = active means you actually have to launch the mechanism to disable to sharp so if this is not launched there is still a sharps risk
    = passive activates the mechanism themselves
41
Q

guidance for managing BBV infected HCWs

A

look at lecture cos this guidance seems too in depth / specific for us to have to know lol sorry

BDS2 - BAMS (18 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions