[Percutaneous exposures in medical personnel]

Medical personnel having daily contacts with patients and, consequently, with their blood and other body fluids constitute a group of an increased risk of percutaneous exposure. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of medical personnel's contacts with blood and other body fluids as well as to analyze the attitudes of patients infected with blood-borne pathogens and procedures after an occupational exposure to infectious material.

A questionnaire survey of 151 persons.

The survey revealed that 77.5% of physicians and 98.2% of nurses experience contacts with infectious material at least several times a week. Simultaneously, 45% of physicians and only 18.9% of nurses stated that they had never been injured with a contaminated needle or other medical instruments. Disconcerting is also the fact that only 45.5% of physicians and 66.7% of nurses report such incidents to their superiors.

The study proved that medical personnel form an occupational group regularly exposed to contacts with patients' blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions. Despite such frequent contacts with patients' body fluids and frequent injuries with medical instruments, their knowledge of blood-borne infections is inadequate. The awareness of giving care to an infected patient makes the majority of medical personnel modify their behavior.