Introduction

Professional exposure of medical staff is an adverse event that might accompany the procedure of providing medical care.

Aim of the study

The objective of the study was the assessment of the incidence of professional exposure of medical staff providing medical care in one of the hospitals of the Malopolska region between 2013 and 2016.

Material and methods

In order to assess the exposure of medical staff an analysis of medical records from the period of 2013-2016 was carried out in the 5th Military Clinical Hospital and Polyclinic in Krakow. The source of information was an Individual Card of Professional Exposure in-cluding the results of blood tests or tests for other potentially infectious fomites. The study included all reported cases of profes-sional exposure that appeared during the examined period in the examined 400-bed hospital.

Results

In the years 2013-2016 as many as 96 cases of professional exposure were observed, and they were more common in women – 70.8% and nurses – 50%. The dominating source of professional exposure was the operating theatre. The activities that potentially pose the highest risk of professional exposure included patient’s treatment or surgery as well as collecting material for medical tests. An obvious exposure was observed in 72.9% of the cases, and blood was the statistically most common exposure material.

Conclusions

Despite significant professional exposure to fomites, especially to blood, no hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections were observed in the examined medical staff.