Infortuni biologici in un'azienda ospedaliera universitaria: possibili strumenti preventivi

The exposure to biological risk is very common in health workers. The aim of our study was to identify the main causes of biological injuries, the categories at risk and the possible prevention tools at the University Hospital of Ferrara. In 2009 175 accidents occurred on a general population of 2602 health workers. The categories found to be most affected were the non medical staff (74 cases) and the physicians in training (43 cases). Prevalence rates were 15,4% for phisicians in training and 4,6% for non-medical staff. Then, we investigated the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 30 injured hospital employees and in 20 injured physicians in formation. In the subgroup of 50 subjects, 28 of 30 hospital employees and only 4 of the 20 physicians in training, had attended courses for the proper use of PPE. Our findings indicate that the category most affected by biological injury is the medical in training. More effort in preventive strategies is necessary to decrease the biological injuries of physicians in training