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Nearly 70 patients tested for HIV and hepatitis after nurse reuses syringe

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E

Enter the Dragon Punch

Banned
Entire article at the link
NBC10 article

I searched for HIV, and I didn't find anything.


Dozens of patients have been tested for HIV and hepatitis after a nurse reused a syringe to administer flu jabs.

Sixty-eight employees at Otsuka Pharmaceutical in New Jersey have been warned they may have been given infected blood.

A public health official said the nurse had changed the needle each time but reused the syringe.
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A letter to one employee from the New Jersey Department of Health reads: "The needles were changed between each patient but the syringe was reused multiple times.

"Syringe reuse may have exposed you to infected blood.

"At this time NJDOH is not aware of any disease transmission, but you may be at risk for developing an infection as a result of this improper practice.”

Officials said the risk of infection was "low" but all affected employees have had to undergo testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

As well as reusing syringes, the nurse also gave a dose of the vaccine that was less than the recommended amount, officials said.

They wrote: “Receiving less than the recommended amount is not harmful, but you might not be fully protected against the flu.

“We are recommending that you get another flu shot this season to ensure that you are completely protected."
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How do you fuck up that badly? I refuse to believe an actual nurse was administrating those flu shots. 67 people? Come on.
 
G

garath

Member
Oh. I originally read that as tested POSITIVE for HIV. Whew. Still, that's really bad practice. It was at a pharmaceuticals company to boot. Jeez.
 
J

JDSN

Banned
Thought this was going to be in some developing nation, but nope, New Jersey.

Luckily, from the way its described it sounds like really low <&#8453;1 odds.
 
U

Usobuko

Banned
Can't feel sorry for her, she completely fucked up and mess with 70 people life forever.

edit: Nvm, I thought the title meant the HIV/STD results are affirmed.
 
E

E92 M3

Member
That is horrifyingly scary. I hope she loses her license and never goes anywhere near a medical setting again. IF a patient does get infected, then there need to be charges filed.
 
W

WedgeX

Banned
It's not like plastic syringes are expensive, they're meant for one time usage. Did the nurse feel it was a lucky string or something? Fuck.
 
A

Alcoholikaust

Member
Enter the Dragon Punch said:
67 people
Click to expand...
WTF-Cat-Clock-Surprise-MRW-Gif.gif
 
G

Goliath

Member
Ahhhhhhh come on people......we are slowly making ground with convincing people that vaccines are safe and somebody does this!
 
C

cameron

Member
"The needles were changed between each patient but the syringe was reused multiple times.
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Both the syringe and needle are supposed to be single use. How did she know about the process of one but not the other?
 
B

bluesun.exe

Member
Oh god that's just... Even as a receptionist at a dentist office I know how important it is to dispose of used needles and syringes.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
I forget but aren't syringes usually wrapped up in plastic before use? I'd be weirded out if a nurse came in with one that they didn't unwrap in front of me.
 
K

Kaiken

Banned
Shouldn't this be nurse 101? I mean, I thought this would be common sense how to handle vaccinations. Unbelievable!
 
F

Fury451

Banned
jelly said:
I can't believe that would slip through Nurse training.
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It wouldn't. I have several close friends in nursing, and they were pretty shocked. Either the nurse was burned out/exhausted and unfit for duty, under the influence, lazy, or intentionally harming.

There may be other possibilities, but I struggle to consider what they would be.
 
S

soundscream

Member
I wonder why nobody questioned her. Every shot I have gotten the nurse has opened the package in front of me. I would never just take a shot from a needle/syringe just sitting out ready to go.
 
D

double jump

you haven't lived until a random little kid ask you "how do you make love".
"go straight to jail and don't pass go"

wtf?

I was just thinking of getting a shot too . They gonna have to open everything in front of my eyes now.
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
JDSN said:
Thought this was going to be in some developing nation, but nope, New Jersey.

Luckily, from the way its described it sounds like really low <&#8453;1 odds.
Click to expand...

From a purely statistical standpoint, it's unlikely that any of the patients will contract HIV (though I don't know about hepatitis), but that doesn't excuse extremely reckless behavior by a professional who should know better. She, and her clinic, need to be held accountable for this. At a minimum, the nurse should lose her job and credentials - I sure as hell don't want a nurse of that caliber helping me.
 
F

Foffy

Banned
What? The first thing you learn in nursing is how you want to create every encounter with a person to be one founded on cleanliness, both for you and what you administer to the person. Anything you typically use on a person that doesn't stay with the person has to, on some level, be disposed of and not shared with another person.
 
D

daveo42

Banned
Damaniel said:
From a purely statistical standpoint, it's unlikely that any of the patients will contract HIV (though I don't know about hepatitis), but that doesn't excuse extremely reckless behavior by a professional who should know better. She, and her clinic, need to be held accountable for this. At a minimum, the nurse should lose her job and credentials - I sure as hell don't want a nurse of that caliber helping me.
Click to expand...

Whew...here I was thinking she actually infected these patients with HIV and Hep after doing that. I really wonder what she was thinking. Absolutely insane and putting the lives and well being of your patients in danger.

As for hep, the risk is probably the same because it was a reused syringe, lowering the chances of blood to blood contact.

GameAddict411 said:
Their lives are not ruined since there are effective treatments, but holly shit! The title is a bit miss leading at first.
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Financial ruin. HIV treatments have come down in cost, but aren't cheap and you have to continue to take them until either a full cure is found or until you die. Plus, there are a host of other issues that come with it, including social stigma.
 
M

Manoko

Member
This is nightmare-level stuff right there.

Crazy how this could happen in this day and age, knowing how careful one should be and the possible devastating consequences that might happen if we're not.
 
L

Little Green Yoda

Member
Fury451 said:
It wouldn't. I have several close friends in nursing, and they were pretty shocked. Either the nurse was burned out/exhausted and unfit for duty, under the influence, lazy, or intentionally harming.

There may be other possibilities, but I struggle to consider what they would be.
Click to expand...
Isn't replacing the needle (but not the syringe) more work than just grabbing a fresh set? Doubt it was motivated by laziness.
 
stufte

stufte

Member
GameAddict411 said:
Their lives are not ruined since there are effective treatments, but holly shit! The title is a bit miss leading at first.
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Effective treatments aren't free. The life they knew before, their financial situation, are all gone. Dating is now insanely more complicated. The stigma of being HIV positive. I'd call that a life ruined.
 
G

GameAddict411

Member
stufte said:
Effective treatments aren't free. The life they knew before, their financial situation, are all gone. Dating is now insanely more complicated. The stigma of being HIV positive. I'd call that a life ruined.
Click to expand...

I meant it in a sense of dying from it, but you are completely right. I know the monthly costs of the pills are over $2k. This doesn't include tests and doctor visits. It will definitely affect the person love life too. Being gay, if someone is poz, it would definitely make me think twice about dating that person. For my own sake off course.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Little Green Yoda said:
Isn't replacing the needle (but not the syringe) more work than just grabbing a fresh set? Doubt it was motivated by laziness.
Click to expand...

If the needles my allergy nurses use are any indication, they're a breeze to swap out. They always use two needles (one to draw the solution, the other to prick), and it only takes a twist for each.
 
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