Aesculap Academy, the educational arm of the multinational medical equipment company B.Braun conducted an Asia-Pacific workshop on "Safety in Intravenous Therapy" on October 30 and 31 at Hotel Jaypee Palace in Agra. It was well attended by national delegates along with delegates from other Asia-Pacific countries like China, Thailand, and Malaysia. The event was aimed at gathering an international view regarding the safety of health care workers, especially the needle stick injury cases related to HIV, hepatitis-B (HBV) and hepatitis-C (HCV).
Anne McDade, a clinical nurse consultant in Concord Repatriation Hospital in Sydney, Australia, headed the workshop.
It discussed about the health care workers being at risk of contracting diseases like syphilis and viral hemorrhage fevers, after exposure to needle stick injuries, while handling the common blood borne pathogens like HIV hepatitis-A and hepatitis-C, use and integration of IV therapy safety systems into health care facilities in India and other Asia-Pacific countries, dissemination of information on IV devices with safety features. Besides building upon existing knowledge, the workshop also enabled target groups to develop their role as 'safety' advocates, within individual healthcare organization.
The workshop also covered topics like the history of IV therapy and emergence of safety equipment, potential clinical implication, financial impact of needle stick injuries and benefits of using safety IV equipment.