i myself am a medical student in final year, but would still like an expert's opinion on this. I injected a hep c patient with interferon sub cutaeneously in the median cubital fossa, then after injecting while i was destroying the syringe my thumb slipped n i pricked myself it was a very fast n superficial prick, i got my thumb away real fast, there was so little of my blood that it vanished after 5 seconds, AM I AT RISK FOR HEP C N WHAT SHOULD I DO.

First you need to report this incident right away. You need baseline laboratories for any needlestick. You must always report any event that occurs while you are a healthcare worker - for your own protection!

I would then get HCV RNA testing in about 4 to 6 weeks to see if you were infected. If you were, you will need to get follow-up RNA testing to see if you clear on your own. If not, you can be treated and in this clinical scenario, the chance of cure is about 90 percent.

I am guessing that you will not be infected, however, based on the case you present. The odds are clearly in your favor.

The other important issue is to check the HCV RNA level of your patient. If he or she was on treatment for several weeks, it is already possible that HCV RNA was suppressed. Then you can relax.