Needlestick injuries: the shock and reality.

It has been a typically busy Saturday night in the emergency department. Then, near midnight, a trauma casualty was admitted and an incident occurred that would occupy Suzanne Smith's thoughts for months to come. When starting an intravenous line on this patient, Suzanne spiked herself with a needle. Later the patient was taken to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator. Suzanne was overcome with fear that she might have contracted AIDS. Her fears intensified when she learned that the patient, Mr. Norman, was a heroin addict.