Needle stick prophylaxis

[docB]

I had a bad case the other night. A cop came in after being stuck with a needle from a hooker/IVDAer. Blood on the needle (they brought it in for me), stuck into muscle (thenar). A truly high risk stick. Cops and ER folk try to take care of each other so I really went all out, on the phone to pharmacy to get the drugs ASAP. Got her dosed within 2 hours of the stick and 1 hours of the ED visit. When she left I wanted to make sure that she could get her scripts first thing in the am so I called in the scripts to her pharmacy. I was surprised to find that 4 pharmacies didn't have the drugs to do a post exposure. I finally found one that had them. I was glad that I was able to tell her where to go. So the lesson is don't assume that all or even most pharmacies will have the stuff for a prophylaxis cocktail.

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[docB]

So I followed up on my needle stick pt. The fine, upstanding, citizen, hooker, drug addict whose needle did the sticking came back neg for HIV. However, just to make sure that my dismal view of humanity stays as is, she then told the cops, "Yeah I negative but my boyfriend, he positive and both me and him been shooting with that needle." What a colossal *****! She's knowingly sharing a needle with someone whose HIV pos! The poor cop now has to do the whole prophylaxis regimen.

 

[Sessamoid]

They should just shoot her.

 

[DrQuinn]

Yo biznitch, AIDS ain't no thang no mo' cause we got drizzugs to take fo' free, it keeps yo' butt alive, man, it ain't no thang bro! They can just take the pizills.

Atleast, that's what a patient told me once after I asked him if he continued to share needles even though his CD4 count was 8.

Q, DO

 

[MErc44]

I took an immunology lab this quarter and the lady who ran it used to work in a clinical laboratory. She told us that if there is a needle accident with someone who is HIV positive you can inject a low concentration of hypoclhorite directly into the puncutre or laceration where the suspected infection occurs. Apparently you need to do this within seconds and really jab the needle in there. She told us that she pricked herself with an infected sample and did this and she came up negative. She also told us someone in her lab i guess cut himself on a centrifuge b/c he put his hand in it before it stopped, kind of like in the movie outbreak and got infected blood all over himself but did not get infected. Apparently you really have to jam the needle with hypochlorite in you but the head of our lab said adrenaline takes over and you don't feel it, I'd have to agree.

 

[DrQuinn]

I took an immunology lab this quarter and the lady who ran it used to work in a clinical laboratory. She told us that if there is a needle accident with someone who is HIV positive you can inject a low concentration of hypoclhorite directly into the puncutre or laceration where the suspected infection occurs. Apparently you need to do this within seconds and really jab the needle in there. She told us that she pricked herself with an infected sample and did this and she came up negative. She also told us someone in her lab i guess cut himself on a centrifuge b/c he put his hand in it before it stopped, kind of like in the movie outbreak and got infected blood all over himself but did not get infected. Apparently you really have to jam the needle with hypochlorite in you but the head of our lab said adrenaline takes over and you don't feel it, I'd have to agree.

Interesting theory but I wouldn't know where to find hypochlorite within seconds in the ED. I'd rather just take "them pillz that cure yo' AIDS foo!"

Q, DO

 

[SaltySqueegee]

The level at which some F*ckers don't care amazes and disgusts me at the same time. I am somewhat speechless...

... The level of ... in some people is ineffable... ...

 

[Febrifuge]

"them pillz that cure yo' AIDS foo!"

Q, DO

I wish there was such a pill. I also wish I could invest 50 bucks in the company that makes it right now, because the windfall would pay for my postbac and my med school too. Sigh...

 

[MErc44]

Interesting theory but I wouldn't know where to find hypochlorite within seconds in the ED. I'd rather just take "them pillz that cure yo' AIDS foo!"

Q, DO

I think in the lab they had it prepared already and in their lab coat. I guess it isn't that viable a treatment if you guys don't know about it, but if it's found to work maybe you could carry a capped syringe with you in a pocket.

 

[ERMudPhud]

I took an immunology lab this quarter and the lady who ran it used to work in a clinical laboratory. She told us that if there is a needle accident with someone who is HIV positive you can inject a low concentration of hypoclhorite directly into the puncutre or laceration where the suspected infection occurs. Apparently you need to do this within seconds and really jab the needle in there.

I would say whoever told you this was crazy or yanking your chain. First of all there is now way to test if this works. 1. HIV really only causes significant infections in people so you can't test it in animals. 2. You can't really effectively do a placebo controlled trial of direct injection of BLEACH into wounds. I imagine it would hurt like hell and cause local tissue damage. Not an easy thing to get past your IRB.

She told us that she pricked herself with an infected sample and did this and she came up negative.

The infection rates from a small bore needle stick are quite low so she could have danced counterclockwise around a sacrificed rooster while chanting a voodoo curse and still come up negative. Just because she did something doesn't mean it made a difference

She also told us someone in her lab i guess cut himself on a centrifuge b/c he put his hand in it before it stopped, kind of like in the movie outbreak and got infected blood all over himself but did not get infected. Apparently you really have to jam the needle with hypochlorite in you but the head of our lab said adrenaline takes over and you don't feel it, I'd have to agree.

This sounds a lot like an urban legend to me besides if he was covered in blood where did he stick the needle. If you get stuck don't go shooting yourself up with bleach, alcohol, formaldehyde, phenol or any other **** just go to the ER and follow the usual protocals. There is a national help line which can help PEPline; 888-448-4911.

 

[docB]

...she could have danced counterclockwise around a sacrificed rooster while chanting a voodoo curse and still come up negative. Just because she did something doesn't mean it made a difference

What a coincidince. I just filed a proposal to study the usefulness of voodoo enhanced sacrificial chicken dancing (clockwise though) for acute MI and those stodgy bastards on the IRB rejected it. I'm just ahead of my time. (When I get it through I'll give you coauthor credit.)

 

[Jeff698]

How funny. Just the other day, I invoked a similar cure. I was taking my family medicine OSCE and was asked what alternative medicine I would recommend for the patient's problem.

I told my faculty I would go with swinging a dead chicken around my head at midnight. Appalled, he asked me what evidence I had for this therapy.

I told him I had exactly the same amount of evidence for my therapy as he did for the dried pig root thingee he wanted me to say.

Of course, I didn't actually say any of this, but it sure amused the hell outta me just to think it.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[docB]

Of course, I didn't actually say any of this, but it sure amused the hell outta me just to think it.

Just work 15 shifts in a row and you'll get so fatigued that you'll just blurt these things out.

 

[flighterdoc]

Yo biznitch, AIDS ain't no thang no mo' cause we got drizzugs to take fo' free, it keeps yo' butt alive, man, it ain't no thang bro! They can just take the pizills.

Atleast, that's what a patient told me once after I asked him if he continued to share needles even though his CD4 count was 8.

Q, DO

Geez. At some point, whats the point?

 

[Katee80]

The level at which some F*ckers don't care amazes and disgusts me at the same time. I am somewhat speechless...

... The level of ... in some people is ineffable... ...

Who are you referring to? Could go either way n'est pas?

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Who are you referring to? Could go either way n'est pas?

The hooker...

 

[MErc44]

This sounds a lot like an urban legend to me besides if he was covered in blood where did he stick the needle. If you get stuck don't go shooting yourself up with bleach, alcohol, formaldehyde, phenol or any other **** just go to the ER and follow the usual protocals. There is a national help line which can help PEPline; 888-448-4911.

As far as I know the skin is a barrier to infection, he had a cut and that's where he stuck the syringe in. This was a guy she worked with or so she told us. I'd be interested if anyone else has heard of this method. I should mention that this most likely happened at the very beginning of the recognition of HIV as the cause of AIDS.