MY First Needle Stick

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enfuegoEP

enfuegoEP

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I stuck myself with an 18 gauge needle while putting in a central line last night. It scared the hell out of me because the guy I was performing the procedure on is an unlicensed pharmacist/thug who spends his free time jockin bitches and slappin hoes. I was told the chances of seroconverting after being stuck with an 18 gauge with HIV contaminated blood is 3 in 1000. Fortunate for me the guy is -HIV The trauma surgeon lauged it off and the ER docs all told me not to worry. They began swapping stories about needle sticks they've had. It still scared the hell out of me :( Anyone else crap their scubs after a needle stick or am I being paranoid?
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Thats scary dude, glad to hear you're ok. Chalk it up as a learning experience.
 
I remember my first needle stick. It didn't happen until I was a resident. It didn't scare me a lot because the guy was 90 or something and HIV neg. The second one was a 22g arterial stick in a HIV/HCV positive. I didn't freak or anything. I just took the miserable freaking meds.

All was well. You are not wrong to freak out a little. Its scary. But the converstion data is pretty good. What you want to make sure you do is always go to health services, even if you choose not to take meds. For your own protection, you need it documented.
 
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enfuegoEP said:
I stuck myself with an 18 gauge needle while putting in a central line last night. It scared the hell out of me because the guy I was performing the procedure on is an unlicensed pharmacist/thug who spends his free time jockin bitches and slappin hoes. I was told the chances of seroconverting after being stuck with an 18 gauge with HIV contaminated blood is 3 in 1000. Fortunate for me the guy is -HIV The trauma surgeon lauged it off and the ER docs all told me not to worry. They began swapping stories about needle sticks they've had. It still scared the hell out of me :( Anyone else crap their scubs after a needle stick or am I being paranoid?
Click to expand...

It certainly would have been a code brown in my vicinity.

PS - it's pretty cool that you are doing central lines as a student. I haven't had the chance yet!
 
Ah, the needle stick. My first stick was while I was closing the skin of a HIV positive guy with a viral load of 50,000+ after an A-V fistula. I handled it extremely badly. By that time on Surgery, I had been taught to shut up, work and be stalwart. So, I said nothing, finished closing the skin, and calmly washed my hands after I degloved.

There was no blood on the needle because it was a subq closure, and no blood could be expressed from my finger, so I just went into denial for about 8mos. No Drs visit, no meds. By that point I had done my medicine sub-I an was not sleeping well at night thinking about my HIV infected patients, wondering if I would still go into EM if I seroconverted. I finally went to get the 20 minute test, and the counselor talked to me the whole time, asking me who I would tell if I was HIV positive, whether people would support me, etc, etc. I cried like a baby when the test result turned out negative.

If it ever happens again (though I hope to God not), I will stop immediately, scrub myself to death, and take meds, even though the conversion risk is low. It's just not worth it. :scared:

PS. Think about the needle sticks that were laughed off around the time HIV started to manifest itself

PSS. Med students aren't allowed to even touch central lines at my institution :(
 
Glad you are ok!! Have yet to stick myself, but I am certain my day is coming. :scared:
 
Had an issue a few months ago where I felt a sharp pain in my finger when giving pain stimulus to a decreased LOC IV drug user. I shook it off as my imagination, but later took my gloves off and found an injury to that finger. The pt. had a few sharps in his possession but they were all capped, and I had no holes in any of the gloves that I checked (was stupid and forgot to check at the time, so I had to go through the gloves in our waste bin).

I reported the injury but declined to ask for prophylaxis due to the lack of a confirmed needle stick. I still want to get tested for it in a few months to be sure. Even without a confirmed stick, I'm still freaking out a bit about getting the test.

So in a nutshell, don't worry about it OP...I think it's scary no matter who you are and no matter who the patient is. :|
 
I tried to rub my needle stick off. Problem was I literally had anxiety for like two days until I finally said, enough is enough and got it taken care of.

Every needle stick demands you report it and get it checked out. Believe me, it is the only way you are going to sleep and night and have peace of mind. Do not ever be a stalwart and rub it off - you'll pay if you do.
 
Hard24Get said:
Ah, the needle stick. My first stick was while I was closing the skin of a HIV positive guy with a viral load of 50,000+ after an A-V fistula. I handled it extremely badly. By that time on Surgery, I had been taught to shut up, work and be stalwart. So, I said nothing, finished closing the skin, and calmly washed my hands after I degloved.

There was no blood on the needle because it was a subq closure, and no blood could be expressed from my finger, so I just went into denial for about 8mos. No Drs visit, no meds. By that point I had done my medicine sub-I an was not sleeping well at night thinking about my HIV infected patients, wondering if I would still go into EM if I seroconverted. I finally went to get the 20 minute test, and the counselor talked to me the whole time, asking me who I would tell if I was HIV positive, whether people would support me, etc, etc. I cried like a baby when the test result turned out negative.

If it ever happens again (though I hope to God not), I will stop immediately, scrub myself to death, and take meds, even though the conversion risk is low. It's just not worth it. :scared:

PS. Think about the needle sticks that were laughed off around the time HIV started to manifest itself

PSS. Med students aren't allowed to even touch central lines at my institution :(
Click to expand...

This is terrible. My heart goes out to you H24G. The trauma surgeon who was laughing about my stick (he's a good guy and was only trying to lighten me up) got stuck with an 18 gauge by a known HIV patient in 1988 at Jackson Memorial in Miami. He was told by a resident that HE WILL GET AIDS and at that time there were no antiretrovirals. He never seroconverted.

As for doing central lines..I've built up my attendings confidence in me by performing a lot of procedures and saving them time with suturing, I/D's etc. So after I stuck myself I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want them to think I was incompetent and they made a mistake in trusting me. But they were all really cool about it. While I was waiting for the HIV results after the stick they put me right back to work suturing and an I/D of a paronychia. I was relieved they didn't think I was a complete a$$ after the stick :oops:
 
My first one was when I was putting a patient's belongings in a bag as an EMT, IV drug user had a sharp in his sweater and it bit me. His rapid HIV was neg but personally I was more worried about hep. Everything worked out it the end, but for the first week I couldn't help but worry every chance I got.
 
I have a kind of amusing, bonehead stick story.

Let's say you are putting in an US guided IJ. For some reason, someone in the room suggests we dim the lights so the screen is more visible. Fine by me, whatever. However, when you are going to make your skin nick, lets say you have grabbed the safety scalpel from the wrong end due to the dim lighting. I always pull back on the lil' blade slider so I have an exact idea of where it is in space. If you do this, the scalpel will extend right into your pinky and stop on the periosteum of your distal phalanx. That absolutely does not feel good. Probably no fun for the patient either, some guy has a needle in your neck and then he curses all of a sudden. Nothing infectious happened, we arent blood brothers or anything, but a boneheaded story by me and my first stick (Im about to exit residency, so I guess I was due).
 
My first stick was as a phlebotomist in undergrad (and I was only there for about 4-5 mos). Fortunately it was in a carehome, and I'm pretty sure that when the patient swung at me to hit me, the needle hit me before her. Never reported because I knew my status and knew it didn't affect me because it was clean when it got me. I'm sure there is probably a worse one coming in the future...when the next combative pt decides to hit me. Which by the way also happened when I was drawing in the jail, but as soon as the guy swung (with the 2 security dudes holding him down), my reaction was to jump as far back as possible and left the needle in the guy's arm.
 
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EM2BE said:
My first stick was as a phlebotomist in undergrad (and I was only there for about 4-5 mos). Fortunately it was in a carehome, and I'm pretty sure that when the patient swung at me to hit me, the needle hit me before her. Never reported because I knew my status and knew it didn't affect me because it was clean when it got me. I'm sure there is probably a worse one coming in the future...when the next combative pt decides to hit me. Which by the way also happened when I was drawing in the jail, but as soon as the guy swung (with the 2 security dudes holding him down), my reaction was to jump as far back as possible and left the needle in the guy's arm.
Click to expand...
I was placing an IV on an HIV+ patient and he suddenly decided he didn't like it, and reached over to yank it out of his arm right in front of me. I immediately backed away as I saw him reaching for it. That was not a pleasant experience, either. :mad:
 
I had two or three sticks with an IV cath from my days as a paramedic. I've managed to avoid needles sticks as a resident but did manage to poke myself with a scalpel immediately after cutting into a big juicy MRSA abscess.

I did all the post-exposure blood work and everything turned out fine but.... yuck! Just the thought of it.

Take care,
Jeff
 
enfuegoEP said:
I stuck myself with an 18 gauge needle while putting in a central line last night. It scared the hell out of me because the guy I was performing the procedure on is an unlicensed pharmacist/thug who spends his free time jockin bitches and slappin hoes. I was told the chances of seroconverting after being stuck with an 18 gauge with HIV contaminated blood is 3 in 1000. Fortunate for me the guy is -HIV The trauma surgeon lauged it off and the ER docs all told me not to worry. They began swapping stories about needle sticks they've had. It still scared the hell out of me :( Anyone else crap their scubs after a needle stick or am I being paranoid?
Click to expand...

No, you're not the only to feel like that after a needle stick.

I got my first (and, God willing, only) needle stick on surgery.

They, of course, had to test the patient for HBV, HCV, and HIV. Like most people here, HIV didn't freak me out - but whenever I thought about the possibility of HCV, I'd feel like I was having an MI.

We can remotely access our hospital's EMR from outside the hospital. At home, I checked that patient's lab reports on his EMR at least q 15 minutes. In between checking his lab reports, I'd keep looking up "HCV seroconversion" on Google.

It was a horrible, horrible experience.
 
Hard24Get said:
Ah, the needle stick. My first stick was while I was closing the skin of a HIV positive guy with a viral load of 50,000+ after an A-V fistula. I handled it extremely badly. By that time on Surgery, I had been taught to shut up, work and be stalwart. So, I said nothing, finished closing the skin, and calmly washed my hands after I degloved.

There was no blood on the needle because it was a subq closure, and no blood could be expressed from my finger, so I just went into denial for about 8mos. No Drs visit, no meds. By that point I had done my medicine sub-I an was not sleeping well at night thinking about my HIV infected patients, wondering if I would still go into EM if I seroconverted. I finally went to get the 20 minute test, and the counselor talked to me the whole time, asking me who I would tell if I was HIV positive, whether people would support me, etc, etc. I cried like a baby when the test result turned out negative.

If it ever happens again (though I hope to God not), I will stop immediately, scrub myself to death, and take meds, even though the conversion risk is low. It's just not worth it. :scared:

PS. Think about the needle sticks that were laughed off around the time HIV started to manifest itself

PSS. Med students aren't allowed to even touch central lines at my institution :(
Click to expand...

On the trauma service at my med school, third year students aren't allowed to use needles/knives on known HIV+ pts. Also, there was a guy at my school (long before me) that got HCV from a needle stick that he didn't report at the time. Since there was no documentation, it became a big insurance issue for him later on (I don't remember specifics but it had something to do with the school's insurance covering it if he'd reported it).

Bottom line, if you don't have experience handling sharp objects around pts, you probably shouldn't be handling sharp objects around high risk pts. And if you do and get stuck, you absolutely need to go through the proper channels of reporting--every hospital has them, and for a reason.
 
Hawkeye Kid said:
On the trauma service at my med school, third year students aren't allowed to use needles/knives on known HIV+ pts. Also, there was a guy at my school (long before me) that got HCV from a needle stick that he didn't report at the time. Since there was no documentation, it became a big insurance issue for him later on (I don't remember specifics but it had something to do with the school's insurance covering it if he'd reported it).

Bottom line, if you don't have experience handling sharp objects around pts, you probably shouldn't be handling sharp objects around high risk pts. And if you do and get stuck, you absolutely need to go through the proper channels of reporting--every hospital has them, and for a reason.
Click to expand...

It's funny how I would scratch my head about patients who lived in denial about their diseases or ignored symptoms if they lead to unpleasant conclusions i.e. chest pain, but we get stuck with needles that could have infectious diseases and STILL don't always report it or take the necessary steps like ARV prophylaxis. I seriously considered not reporting my stick.
 
i had a needle stick during my surgery rotation.

my experience/reaction was very similar to Hard24get's.

it was the single most horrifying moment of my life,and the worst part, it wasn't even my fault (the surgeon i was working with accidentally stuck my index finger with the needle, while closing up on a hemorrhoidectomy).

after that, i was terribly afraid to go back into the OR. i still am, to a certain extent, even 5 months later.
 
enfuegoEP said:
It's funny how I would scratch my head about patients who lived in denial about their diseases or ignored symptoms if they lead to unpleasant conclusions i.e. chest pain, but we get stuck with needles that could have infectious diseases and STILL don't always report it or take the necessary steps like ARV prophylaxis. I seriously considered not reporting my stick.
Click to expand...

Both situations involve denial of the severity of either the severity of symptoms or possible sequale of disease. Pts are very nieve and have no medical knowledge and so you would expect denial and optimism from them regarding their medical condition. But, us doctors should know better. When I was an EMT I was scratched across the forehead by a guy with HIV and Hep C and his long-a$$ fingernails as I was trying to move him onto a stretcher (I guess that the thanks I get for helping). I didn't see any blood and I test how deep it got by rubbing alcohol pads on the wound and it didn't sting. It was my first week on the job and I got nervous and didn't report it and just denied its possible importance. I would think about it from time to time and continue to deny the possibility of infection until 4 years later when I was paranoid for a few days of crazy thoughts that I finally got tested for everything. Everything was OK but again, always report it and always get tested right away. Denial is never good, not in our situation and not in the pt's who's shrugging off that substernal chest pain as "just some gas" and not the possible MI.
 
Out of curiosity, why are you guys more scared of HCV and not so much HIV.
 
Tiger26 said:
Just out of curiousity, it the 1/3 for HCV and the 1/300 figure for HIV with OR without taking the meds after a stick?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking before taking the meds, but I may be wrong.
 
Before...at least for HIV. I don't think there's any prophylaxis for HCV.
 
Tiger26 said:
Just out of curiousity, it the 1/3 for HCV and the 1/300 figure for HIV with OR without taking the meds after a stick?
Click to expand...

The post-stick conversation rate for HCV is NOT 1/3. What Appollyon was saying is that of the people who get HCV, 1/3 will go on to chronic disease.

The post-stick conversion rate for HCV is ~1/50.

There is no HCV prophylaxis :(
 
SoCuteMD said:
The post-stick conversation rate for HCV is NOT 1/3. What Appollyon was saying is that of the people who get HCV, 1/3 will go on to chronic disease.

The post-stick conversion rate for HCV is ~1/50.

There is no HCV prophylaxis :(
Click to expand...

People may be thinking of the conversion rate of Hep B, which is about 30%.

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/needlestick_injuries.html

(this assumes that you aren't vaccinated. So make sure you got all three of your Hep B shots) I think it's a requirement at most med schools but you should get it anyway if not.
 
SoCuteMD said:
The post-stick conversation rate for HCV is NOT 1/3. What Appollyon was saying is that of the people who get HCV, 1/3 will go on to chronic disease.

The post-stick conversion rate for HCV is ~1/50.

There is no HCV prophylaxis :(
Click to expand...

Just to clear things up, the following are seroconversion rates for a needle stick with the following confirmed BBPs:

HIV: 0.3%
HCV: 3%
HBV: 30%

Easy to remember as they go up by a factor of 10 for each pathogen.
 
There is no case on record of anyone getting HIV if taking meds within 4 hours of the needlestick.

Just take the meds if you get a stick.

We need to develop a Hep C vaccine...
 
I knew I'd be getting the HIV status or the patient within and hour or so so I skipped the meds. But definitely very good info and if there's any doubt about the status of the patient in the future I'll definitely take the meds.

Thanks Egon
 
i've had 4 needlesticks total.

3 before med school with 28 gauge EMG needles. two times the needle had just been in patients, and one was a dirty needle that had been sitting in my toolbox (in my car in direct sun for about a week) in an autoclave bag waiting to be sterilized because some a$$hole hospital wouldn't let me use their equipment after i'd done a case there. although i freaked out on the first one quite a bit, the other two were just part of the job. if i had to crawl under a table during a case and place anal sphincter monitors upside down and completely blind to please orthopods, i did it. funnily enough, having to do $hit like that was one of the biggest reasons i decided to go to med school.

the last one was about a month ago. we placed a femoral a-line, then when i went to dispose of the suturing needle, the door to the sharps box bounced up at exactly the moment i went to place the needle in, pricking me in my 4th finger. the patient was old, but had had multiple transfusions. we were both tested and found to be clean. the hospital said i didn't need any further testing done. the patient died the next day from his injuries.

every time, i have scrubbed with an iodine solution, squeezed blood out of the wound for a couple of minutes, then scrubbed some more, then dressed the wound. i get tested at every opportunity (like at ACEP) so know my most current documentation is never too old.

bottom line is that $hit happens, even when you're being careful, even when you think you are too brilliant of a person to ever get stuck. i've seen many residents shocked at how many times i've been bitten, as if they will never suffer the same fate. congrats to those who've made it through without a stick, but really its only a matter of time and luck, not supposed superior skill.
 
Let it suffice to say that burying your head in the sand if you experience a needlestick is NOT going to make the problem go away. You're not a pansy for stopping what you're doing and reporting the needlestick. When emotions run high in a situation like this, you need an independent risk assessment from a third party to help you decide about chemoprophylaxis or not. Plus, you should get the source patient tested instead of convincing yourself that the patient is low risk. There are plenty of people who aren't classicly high risk from the face of it who turn of Hep C positive, and you owe it to your family and sex partners to identify a possible HCV infection before you turn up seropositive in 5 years. In addition, you are entitled to worker's compensation benefits for this sort of on-the-job injury, but you aren't going to claim them down the road if you didn't properly document your injury.
 
I have not been stuck (yet) *knocks on wood*, but just nearly as bad as far as fretting over things was the day I jabbed a needle into the back of the hand of a co-resident!!!

Talk about feeling like a total idiot.

He did not want to go through the channels, but we talked to the attending and he did do it. Luckily, everything was negative.
 
I stuck myself with a sharp part of a vacutanier after starting a line and doing labs on a seizure patient during my paramedic school field time. Nothing was worse then hearing my preceptor call the supervisor and say "Larry my student stuck himself" then getting to sit in the ED until 3am getting labs drawn and being told its to low a risk to worry about taking any medication.

Funny part of the story is I show up the next day for night shift and the off going crew laughs and says they took the very same patient back to the ED hours later.
 
I had my first one a few months ago. it was my first night on trauma. i was doing a central line and managed to stab myself with the scalpel while trying to blot the blood up so i could see where the hell i was. I was pretty shaken the rest of the night, even after talking to the guy's wife who said he's clean. One of my attendings had to take care of the paperwork for me. for the rest of the month whenever he saw me he'd start singing "like a surgeon cutting for the very first time...."
 
Stuck as an itern with HIV/HCV +/+ suture needle. Did 4 weeks of Combivir and Kaletra (I now know why no HIV pts take their meds). Spent the next year getting repeat blood tests to make sure I didnt convert. I was negative at one year (10/07) for HIV and HCV.

Pretty much thought that I was going to die though. It doesn't matter what the statistics are, if you get stuck with a needle there is that moment of unbridled nausea and terror that is unexplainable. Being in detroit where HCV/HIV are more prevalent that eyelashes, I am double gloving with most pts. :scared::eek:
 
bartleby said:
Let it suffice to say that burying your head in the sand if you experience a needlestick is NOT going to make the problem go away..
Click to expand...


Sez you!....this is me after a needle stick!

super.jpg
 
Hi. I just had my first needle stick two days ago when I somehow got stuck when withdrew a butterfly needle from someone (who happened to be an employee at the same place I work at) after an unsuccessful venipuncture. The needle had no visible blood on it as I had obviously missed the vein. Being my first, when I went to the charge nurse I was so terrified by it that I just froze and literally couldn't bring up the issue and then slipped right into denial for the rest of the night. Two days later, I am contemplating seeing my primary care doc (and pull myself out of denial). I have to agree with others out there that the first needle stick is the most traumatic. I am determined to get past this even though I know I should have addressed it sooner.
 
Risks for HIV are small... risks for hep C, not so small.

HBV - 30%
HCV - 3%
HIV 0.3%

Rule of 3s...

Bottom line, you got stuck with an 18g needle, hollow bore. That's not something to mess with. Had it been a simple suture closed bore needle, that's a different story.

I would say - get it checked out, start PEP if needed or recommended by your institution. You need this DOCUMENTED. Worst case scenario, you acquire HCV later and you may have some recourse (?) for disability or help w health insurance costs. Not sure though.

I would not monkey around w an 18g hollow bore... even if the guy is HIV neg.... that just clears him for the 6 months prior to his presentation to the ER... do not be callous with this.
 
Regarding myself, I've stuck myself about 2 times thus far. All were solid bore, suture needles. Superficial. I am VERY VERY VERY careful (knock on wood) with any open needle especially open bore ones. I always make it a point to know where it's at at all times because 1 poke can ruin your night, week, month, year.

The 2 times I stuck myself were very superficial. I had gloves on (once had double gloves on). I have been tested for HIV and HBV and HCV after and just a few months ago and still negative.

You just never know.

I'm headed to a shift overnight tonight.... I'm going to knock on wood that I don't stick myself. This thread was a good reminder to be careful and that anything can happen.

EDIT:

Greeeeat.... necro bump. FTL!
 
Are these kinds of tests ones that even my doc can order? I was so frightened I literally froze and I'm still getting over the fear. I am vaccinated against Hep B, I know chances of HIV are rare, but what were the chances of Hep C again?
 
Didacts said:
Are these kinds of tests ones that even my doc can order? I was so frightened I literally froze and I'm still getting over the fear. I am vaccinated against Hep B, I know chances of HIV are rare, but what were the chances of Hep C again?
Click to expand...

This was just posted. Are you asking us to look back a couple posts for you?
 
Got my first needlestick on a visiting rotation at LA County. Was cleaning up after an LP for a SAH rule out. The jagged edge of the snap cap lidocaine bottle got my finger as picked it up. Would have been fine had I not had a little CSF on that finger from the procedure. Was smart enough to mention it to the resident. Because I was visiting student, they didn't cover me for insurance and because I HAD insurance from my home school, they made me drive a mile away to another hospital for an evaluation. I declined the meds, but the other hospital insisted I get labs drawn. They rang it up as worker's comp so my insurance wouldn't cover it. So in the end, I saw a PA for a few minutes, got a LFTs and some other labs drawn. Never got result notification. Billed me $3,100.

Went back to LA county to finish my shift, patient turned out to be HCV and HIV negative.

Home school picked up the bill. It was a nightmare in the end, only because of the administrative crap.
 
On another note, Hep C becoming less of a worry, as meds in the pipeline for HCV will make the virus/disease much less of a problem in coming years.
 
pinipig523 said:
Risks for HIV are small... risks for hep C, not so small.

HBV - 30%
HCV - 3%
HIV 0.3%

Rule of 3s...

Bottom line, you got stuck with an 18g needle, hollow bore. That's not something to mess with. Had it been a simple suture closed bore needle, that's a different story.

I would say - get it checked out, start PEP if needed or recommended by your institution. You need this DOCUMENTED. Worst case scenario, you acquire HCV later and you may have some recourse (?) for disability or help w health insurance costs. Not sure though.

I would not monkey around w an 18g hollow bore... even if the guy is HIV neg.... that just clears him for the 6 months prior to his presentation to the ER... do not be callous with this.
Click to expand...

Are these kinds of tests ones that even my doc can order? I was so frightened I literally froze and I'm still getting over the fear. I am vaccinated against by I Want This">Hep B, I know chances of HIV are rare, but what were the chances of Hep C again?
 
Aloha Kid said:
I tried to rub my needle stick off. Problem was I literally had anxiety for like two days until I finally said, enough is enough and got it taken care of.

Every needle stick demands you report it and get it checked out. Believe me, it is the only way you are going to sleep and night and have peace of mind. Do not ever be a stalwart and rub it off - you'll pay if you do.
Click to expand...

Where did you get the stick taken care of?
 
Didacts said:
Where did you get the stick taken care of?
Click to expand...
You've now made four posts, none of which have got you any closer to doing what you should do.

Yes, your primary care physician could do all the tests you need. So could an urgent care centre. All you have to do is pick up the phone and make an appointment. 2 days after the event is not a problem, but don't leave it any longer.

If you were at work or in formal education when you were stuck, then your place of work or study will have policies to deal with needlesticks, which should include getting the tests done at no cost to yourself. The advantage of going this route is that they should also be able to test the patient, which will give you better information on what the risks to you are - provided you don't delay so much that the patient has left the hospital. Pick up the phone and talk to your immediate manager/superviser about it, or human resources, or a union representative if you have one. Do it now. Forget about all the reasons for not getting on with this, all of them together matter less than actually making that call. So pick up the phone. Now. And perhaps consider only posting here again after you have picked up the phone and started talking to people who can actually help you.
 
enfuegoEP said:
I stuck myself with an 18 gauge needle while putting in a central line last night. It scared the hell out of me because the guy I was performing the procedure on is an unlicensed pharmacist/thug who spends his free time jockin bitches and slappin hoes. I was told the chances of seroconverting after being stuck with an 18 gauge with HIV contaminated blood is 3 in 1000. Fortunate for me the guy is -HIV The trauma surgeon lauged it off and the ER docs all told me not to worry. They began swapping stories about needle sticks they've had. It still scared the hell out of me :( Anyone else crap their scubs after a needle stick or am I being paranoid?
Click to expand...

My first came when I was stabbed in the cheek by my OB GYN during a c section. She told me to be more careful next time :). Oh, and the pt was Hep B positive and my vaccine titers ended up being negative so that meant some HBIG and new series of vaccines for me and a lot of appointments with an ID doc. I'll never miss a board question about hep B exposure protocol now, though!
 
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