Web Alert: Site offers help if needlestick occurs
August 1, 2002
Site: Needlestick!
Address: www.needlestick.mednet.ucla.edu
Contact: David L. Schriger, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90024-2924. Telephone: (310) 794-0593. Fax: (310) 794-0599. E-mail: [email protected].
If a needlestick injury has ever occurred in your ED, you know the feeling of panic, confusion, and urgency this event creates. The Needlestick! web site offers knowledge designed to inform and empower health care workers.
The site is based on algorithms from current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The goal is to gather pertinent medical information for the person who is the source of the exposure and the exposed individual, to give guidance for testing and treatment, according to David L. Schriger, MD, MPH, professor of emergency medicine at University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine. "It is designed as a patient management tool, but can also be used as a simulator by running it for mock patients," he says.
Schriger points to a large body of research that says publishing a guideline in book form is not an effective way to modify provider behavior and improve care.1,2 He explains that the Needlestick! site takes the book format and makes it more user-friendly. The clinician is prompted to enter the relevant information and is provided with case-specific advice. A medical record and case-specific aftercare instructions are available to be printed.
Schriger emphasizes that nurses who have sustained a needlestick injury should seek immediate health care as directed by their employer.
References
1. Grimshaw JM Russell IT. Effect of clinical guidelines on medical practice: A systematic review of rigorous evaluations. Lancet 1993; 342:1,317-1,322.
2. US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Identifying Health Technologies that Work: Searching for Evidence. OTA-H-608. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1994.
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