[Frequency of Occupational Accidents Caused by Sharp-edged Hollow-pointed Equipment and Biological Fluids Among Medical Students and Health Personnel in a Teaching Hospital in the City of Brazilia]

The objective of the study was to check and analyze the occurrence of work accidents caused by sharp-edged hollow-pointed equipment and biological fluids among medical students and health personnel. It was carried out in a Brasilia university hospital. The data were collected from records of work accidents kept by the Hospital Infection Control Committee, from August 1998 to June 2000. It has turned out that 117 persons were victims of work accidents, the vast majority of them caused by needles. The study has reached the conclusion that the accident prevention system must be improved at the above mentioned hospital.