Emergency Procedures

In an emergency situation involving blood or OPIM, always use Standard Precautions and minimize your risk for exposure by wearing appropriate PPE and using the safe practices that have been described earlier.

What to do if you are exposed

• If eyes, nose, or mouth become contaminated, use eye wash stations or drench hoses to flush the contaminated area. Eye wash stations or drench hoses are located in campus laboratory buildings, University Health Services and in the CoGen plant. Know where the nearest eyewash station is in your work environment. If you don’t have access to an eyewash station following an exposure, flush at a regular sink.

• Flush as soon as possible and continue to flush for a full 15 minutes. Always try to flush away from the nose to prevent contamination of the other eye. After flushing, go to University Health Services for medical consultation.

• For exposed skin surfaces, wash the exposed area thoroughly with soap and water. Use a non-abrasive, antibacterial soap if possible. Again, after washing, seek medical attention.

• Report the exposure to your supervisor as soon as possible.

• Report to Employee Health at University Health Services immediately after initial flushing to receive appropriate treatment and to initiate an exposure injury report. If the exposure occurs after hours, go to the Emergency Room at Princeton Medical Center and contact Employee Health the next business day.

Post-Exposure Visit to Employee Health

Employee Health staff have a specific procedure that they will follow for all post-exposure cases. In consultation with a healthcare provider, you will be offered prophylactic treatment and post-exposure evaluation and follow-up.

Employee Health staff will:

• document the route of exposure and the circumstances of the exposure incident
• identify and document the source individual if possible
• test the source individual’s blood for HBV, HCV and HIV (if possible) as soon as consent is obtained
• collect the injured person’s blood (with consent) as soon as possible and test it. (If the injured person consents to having blood drawn, but does not give consent at that time for HIV testing, the blood sample will be kept for at least 90 days. If, within 90 days of the incident, the injured person consents to having the sample tested, the testing will be done as soon as possible without cost to the individual)
• administer post exposure prophylaxes, when medically indicated, as recommended by the CDC and in consultation with an infectious disease specialist.
• provide counseling
• evaluate reported illness
  

Persons exposed to blood or OPIM on the job may request a Hepatitis B vaccination at that time if they have not already received the series. If the vaccine is administered immediately after exposure, it is extremely effective at preventing disease.

Apart from the circumstances surrounding the exposure incident itself, all other findings or diagnoses by Employee Health providers will remain confidential.