The general application of standard health precautions in tripoli hemodialysis units

In the developing world, the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection in the hemodialysis (HD) units is high. Poor adherence to infection control measures is considered the main predisposing factor. In Tripoli's HD units, the prevalence of HCV is high although isolation of HCV positive patients is routinely practiced. In this short questionnaire study, the degree of adherence of our HD nurses, to the infection control measures was examined. The study was conducted in May 2004; sixty responses were collected from nurses working in the three main HD units in Tripoli. When compared with nurses working in other HD units with low HCV infection prevalence, it was found that our nurses' adherence to the standard infection control measures was poorer (p< 0.001). The other significant problems found were irregular supply of some of the essentials needed for HD and understaffing of the units (p = 0.000l). HD is a financially expensive way of treatment, especially in the developing world. HCV infection adds to its costs as well as to the patients' suffering. We need to pay more attention to the application of the simple infection control measures in our dialysis units.