Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission following a needlestick is an important threat to health care workers. We present the case of a 29-year-old medical intern who sustained a needlestick injury from a source patient known to be infected with both human immunodeficiency virus and HCV. The case patient subsequently developed acute HCV infection. The optimal strategy for diagnosing HCV infection after occupational exposures has not been defined. At a minimum, HCV antibody and alanine aminotransferase testing should be done within several days of exposure (to assess if the health care worker is already infected with HCV) and 6 months after percutaneous, mucosal, or nonintact skin exposure to blood or infectious body fluids from an HCV-infected patient. Currently, it is not possible to prevent HCV infection after exposure. However, recent data suggest that early treatment of acute HCV infection with interferon α may be highly effective in preventing chronic HCV infection. These data underscore the importance of identifying persons with acute HCV infection and promptly referring them to experienced clinicians who can provide updated counseling and treatment.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2406-2413 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Medical Association |
| Volume | 287 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| State | Published - May 8 2002 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Needlestick transmission of hepatitis C. / Sulkowski, Mark; Ray, Stuart Campbell; Thomas, David L.
In: Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 287, No. 18, 08.05.2002, p. 2406-2413.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Needlestick transmission of hepatitis C
AU - Sulkowski, Mark
AU - Ray, Stuart Campbell
AU - Thomas, David L
PY - 2002/5/8
Y1 - 2002/5/8
N2 - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission following a needlestick is an important threat to health care workers. We present the case of a 29-year-old medical intern who sustained a needlestick injury from a source patient known to be infected with both human immunodeficiency virus and HCV. The case patient subsequently developed acute HCV infection. The optimal strategy for diagnosing HCV infection after occupational exposures has not been defined. At a minimum, HCV antibody and alanine aminotransferase testing should be done within several days of exposure (to assess if the health care worker is already infected with HCV) and 6 months after percutaneous, mucosal, or nonintact skin exposure to blood or infectious body fluids from an HCV-infected patient. Currently, it is not possible to prevent HCV infection after exposure. However, recent data suggest that early treatment of acute HCV infection with interferon α may be highly effective in preventing chronic HCV infection. These data underscore the importance of identifying persons with acute HCV infection and promptly referring them to experienced clinicians who can provide updated counseling and treatment.
AB - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission following a needlestick is an important threat to health care workers. We present the case of a 29-year-old medical intern who sustained a needlestick injury from a source patient known to be infected with both human immunodeficiency virus and HCV. The case patient subsequently developed acute HCV infection. The optimal strategy for diagnosing HCV infection after occupational exposures has not been defined. At a minimum, HCV antibody and alanine aminotransferase testing should be done within several days of exposure (to assess if the health care worker is already infected with HCV) and 6 months after percutaneous, mucosal, or nonintact skin exposure to blood or infectious body fluids from an HCV-infected patient. Currently, it is not possible to prevent HCV infection after exposure. However, recent data suggest that early treatment of acute HCV infection with interferon α may be highly effective in preventing chronic HCV infection. These data underscore the importance of identifying persons with acute HCV infection and promptly referring them to experienced clinicians who can provide updated counseling and treatment.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 11988061
AN - SCOPUS:0037042259
VL - 287
SP - 2406
EP - 2413
JO - JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
JF - JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
SN - 0098-7484
IS - 18
ER -