Abuzied, Sami Osman
(2015)
A study on biological occupational hazards in emergency medicine in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Masters thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
Background: Hazards in working environment have posed significant risk to health
care workers (HCWs). Biological hazard is one of the hazards and exists in most
departments in hospital, including Emergency Department (ED). The objectives of
this study were to look at the prevalence of biological hazards in ED, determine the
association of different work shift and different triage zones with type of biological
hazards. The associated factors of blood-borne and non-blood-borne diseases were
also being determined.
Methodology This was a prospective study conducted from 1st August 2013 to 30th
November 2013. All patients who presented to ED, Hospital Universiti Sains
Malaysia (HUSM) were reviewed based on the ED records. Hospital records of the
patients with biological hazards were traced and reviewed. Demographic data and
type of biological hazards were collected and association of work shift and triage
zone were also analysed. Final diagnosis of those with biological hazards was also
being determined by reviewing discharge note of the patients. All the data were
entered using SPSS based on the sample size of each type of biological hazards. In
order to avoid missing data, work sheet form year 2013 from Microbiology
department was reviewed for all patients with blood-borne biological hazards. Based
on the registered number of the patients, their visits to ED HUSM were traced and
correlated with the study period. All the data was collected using a standardised
proforma form.
Results: A total of 200 cases that presented to ED HUSM had biological hazards.
Majority of the cases was Malay (96.5%) and community acquired pneumonia
.Apart from CAP and scabies there were no statistically significant association
between biological hazards and the different time of the work shift. Majority of CAP
and scabies cases came during PM shift with the percentage of 42.6% and 78.1%
respectively. Most of the biological hazards had statistically significant association
with triage zone except Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B virus
(HBV). Majority of tuberculosis (TB), CAP and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cases
presented to yellow zone with the percentage of 54.6%, 42.6% and 48.7%
respectively. Majority of scabies and impetigo cases presented to the green zone.
Age and gender were significant association factors of blood-borne diseases.
Conclusion: Yellow zone had higher biological hazards exposure for CAP, TB and
HCV while green zone had higher exposure for scabies and impetigo to HCWs in
ED HUSM. PM shift had higher exposure for CAP and scabies. Age and male
gender were the only significant predictors for the blood-borne biological hazards
exposure to the HCWs in ED HUSM.
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