Document 0172
 DOCN  M9460172
 TI    Recent non-sterile inoculation injuries to dental professionals in the
       Lothian region of Scotland.
 DT    9404
 AU    Felix DH; Bird AG; Anderson HG; Gore SM; Brettle RP; Wray D; Department
       of Oral Medicine, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School.
 SO    Br Dent J. 1994 Mar 5;176(5):180-4. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/94183664
 AB    A retrospective study of inoculation injuries in dental practice was
       conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed to 310 dental
       practitioners in the Lothian region of Scotland. Recent injuries were
       independently classified by a hospital dentist, general dental
       practitioner and immunologist as constituting high, moderate or low risk
       of transmission to the dentist. A consultant physician in infectious
       diseases assessed the follow-up actions. The results indicate that
       non-sterile inoculation injuries are a common hazard of dental practice
       with 56% of respondents reporting at least one such injury within the
       last year. A total of 30% of reported injuries constituted a moderate or
       high risk of transmission to the dental practitioner. Action taken
       following such injuries was often considered to be inadequate. While
       many injuries could possibly be avoided by changes in surgery design,
       avoidance of other injuries would probably require fundamental changes
       in routine dental practice. While the incidence of such injuries is
       high, dental practice within the UK appears to be associated with a low
       risk of acquiring HIV infection by occupational exposure. The increasing
       awareness of the importance of other blood-borne viral infections makes
       this a continuing issue.
 DE    *Blood-Borne Pathogens  *Dentists  Disease Transmission,
       Patient-to-Professional/*PREVENTION &  CONTROL  Female  Hepatitis
       B/TRANSMISSION  Hepatitis C/TRANSMISSION  Human  HIV
       Infections/TRANSMISSION  Male  Needlestick Injuries/*EPIDEMIOLOGY
       Occupational Exposure/*STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  Questionnaires
       Retrospective Studies  Scotland/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
       Universal Precautions  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).