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Hepatitis B immunisation among invasive cardiologists: poor compliance with United Kingdom guidelines
B D Prendergast1, N P Andrews, A Thomas
1University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
Insights
Many UK invasive cardiologists are not following hepatitis B (HBV) guidelines, increasing risks for healthcare workers and patients. Poor awareness of HBV infectivity and inconsistent screening practices highlight a critical gap in infection control.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Hepatitis B (HBV) poses a significant occupational hazard for healthcare workers, particularly in invasive cardiology.
- National guidelines exist to mitigate HBV transmission risks to both patients and medical staff.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate UK invasive cardiologists' adherence to HBV protection guidelines.
- To assess awareness of HBV infectivity, prevalence, and attitudes towards pre-procedure patient screening.
Main Methods:
- Anonymous postal survey distributed to consultant and senior registrar invasive cardiologists in the UK.
- Questionnaire covered respondent's role, HBV knowledge, vaccination status, and institutional screening policies.
Main Results:
- A 78% response rate was achieved (211/271).
- 20% of respondents were unvaccinated against HBV; one-third of vaccinated individuals had suboptimal immunization.
- Significant variability in patient screening practices and poor knowledge of HBV prevalence and transmission risks were observed.
Conclusions:
- Invasive cardiologists face a high risk of HBV exposure.
- Current national guidelines for HBV protection are inadequately implemented within this specialty.
Objectives:
To assess the compliance of invasive cardiologists in the United Kingdom with recently accepted national guidelines on the protection of health care workers and patients from hepatitis B. To determine levels of awareness of the infectivity and prevalence of the virus and current attitudes towards screening of patients before cardiac catheterisation and surgery.
Design:
Anonymous postal survey by questionnaire from the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. The questionnaire established the respondent's position, knowledge of hepatitis B, current immunological state, and policy towards the routine screening of patients for hepatitis B carriage.
Participants:
All British cardiologists of consultant or senior registrar grade involved in invasive procedures.
Results:
The response rate was 78% (211/271). 20% of respondents had never been vaccinated against hepatitis B and about a third of those vaccinated had not complied correctly with the recommended immunisation regimen. There was little uniformity in practices for screening patients for hepatitis B carriage before invasive procedures, and the level of knowledge concerning the prevalence of hepatitis B and the risks of inoculation was poor.
Conclusions:
Invasive cardiologists are at high risk of inoculation with hepatitis B. Nationally agreed guidelines are designed to protect both medical staff and patients against the risk of infection but currently they are ill heeded.
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