Needlestick & Bodily Fluid
If exposed 24/7 call (323) 442-5631
What is an exposure?
- Percutaneous injury (e.g. needle stick or cut with a sharp object)
- Eye splash or contact with other mucous membrane or nonintact skin (chapped, abraded or dermatitis)
Potentially infectious bodily fluids:
– Blood
– Semen
– Vaginal secretions
– Cerebrospinal fluid
– Pleural/pericardial/synovial/peritoneal fluid
– Amniotic fluid
– Feces
– Any bodily fluid that may contain blood
If exposed, what should you do?
- 24/7 Call Student Health Clinic immediately (323) 442-5631
- Wash needle sticks and cuts with soap and water
- Flush splashes to the nose, mouth, and skin with water
- Irrigate eyes with clean water, saline, or sterile irritants
- Obtain as much demographical data on the source patient as possible
- Ask your supervisor to consent the source patient to testing for HIV, HBV and HCV at the time of exposure or when medically able to obtain consent
- Complete Exposure Protocol Form
Is there treatment to prevent bloodborne disease after exposure?
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)- may be prevented by taking post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medications for up to 4 weeks
- Hepatitis B (HBV) - in persons who have not been vaccinated or in nonresponders to the vaccine, post exposure prophylaxis with two doses of HBV immune globulin is recommended
- Hepatitis C (HCV) - there is no vaccine against hepatitis C and no treatment after an exposure that will prevent infection
How soon after an exposure should treatment start?
- Post exposure treatment for Hepatitis B and HIV should be started as soon as possible, preferably within hours after the exposure
- Immediate follow-up with Student Health Clinic even if source patient’s rapid HIV is negative
How do I pay for these services?
- If you are an active student, all required initial baseline care, follow-up laboratory testing and prophylactic medications for a reported episode of potential occupational body fluid exposure are provided at no cost
