Needlestick and Needleshare- The Difference

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can spread rapidly and widely among intravenous drug injectors, but transmission by accidental needlestick is comparatively rare. Previous researchers found no difference in volumes transferred in simulations of these occurrences and sought other explanations for t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1989-09, Vol.160 (3), p.545-545
Main Authors: Hoffman, Peter N., Larkin, Dominic P., Samuel, Dhanraj
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - transmission
Anticoagulants
beta-Galactosidase - administration & dosage
beta-Galactosidase - blood
Blood
Correspondence
Escherichia coli - enzymology
Galactosidases - blood
Hepatitis B virus
HIV
Humans
Infections
Injections, Intravenous
Medical syringes
Models, Biological
Needles
Needlestick injuries
Simulation training
Substance-Related Disorders - complications
Viruses
Wounds, Stab - etiology
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Description
Summary:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can spread rapidly and widely among intravenous drug injectors, but transmission by accidental needlestick is comparatively rare. Previous researchers found no difference in volumes transferred in simulations of these occurrences and sought other explanations for the different infectivities observed in practice. The authors instead created a simulation that included the almost universal practice among intravenous drug abusers of washing out any drug left in the syringe with the user's own blood while the syringe needle is still in the vein ("flushing" or "booting"). The volumes transferred in the needlesharing simulation contrast with those found previously, but levels of blood found in syringes used by intravenous drug abusers give validity to the use of a simulation that includes flushing. Other differences between needlesharing and needlesticks, such as the frequency and route of inoculation, may also play a role in the different transmission rates of HIV. Nevertheless the difference shown here between the volumes of blood transferred in the needlestick and needlesharing simulations can account for the different infection rates in these two groups.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/160.3.545