After a needlestick injury, certain procedures must be followed to minimize the risk of infection for the recipient. The affected area should be rinsed and washed thoroughly with soap and water; the practice to "milk out" more blood is controversial and not recommended by the CDC.[1] Lab tests of the recipient are obtained for baseline studies: HIV, acute hepatitis panel (HAV IgM, HBsAg, HB core IgM, HCV) and for immunized individuals HB surface antibody.[24] Unless already known, the infectious status of the source needs to be determined by checking for HBsAG, anti-HCV, and HIV antibody.[24] Unless the source is known to be negative for HBV, HCV, and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should be initiated, ideally within one hour of the injury;[8] typically this is done in the emergency department or the occupational health office. Guidelines for PEP have been updated over recent years in view of the introduction of new drugs, and protocols may differ somewhat between countries._______________
So I was getting my allergy shot today in France, and after giving me my injection the needle slipped from my doctor's hand and pricked her. She was understandably upset, and I offered to get an HIV test. So, she wrote me a prescription for an HIV test and a Hepatitis test (B and C). Odd that you need a prescription, but apparently you can go to a free center downtown for an HIV test, and a different place for Hepatitis.
The doc warned me that the test was expensive, but this being Europe, expensive usually means 50 euros, or sixty bucks. It was in fact sixty bucks (even the woman behind the counter at the lab told me, "yeah, sorry, it really IS expensive" - I told her she should visit America), and it remains to be seen if Blue Cross Blue Shield considers this an emergency, which is the only thing they pay for when you're traveling abroad.
Through the whole ordeal the doctor didn't once offer to pay for my tests, even though she knew my insurance probably wouldn't cover it, and she knew that it would be "expensive." That kind of bothered me. Interestingly, a French friend, and an American friend who has lived in France a long time, both didn't think the doctor should have offered to pay. All my American friends back in the states said, yes, she should either pay or at least offer.
What do you think?
PS Interestingly, the laboratory doing the test told me that the test is so sensitive that it will pick up whether I was infected in the last couple of days. I didn't think that was possible. Anyone up on this?
