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Electronic control device prongs: a growing cause of bloodborne pathogen exposure?
Electronic control devices (ECDs) are now being used by many law enforcement agencies as nonlethal means to subdue individuals. The devices fire 2 small dart-like probes into a target individual that attach through the skin with a fishhook-like prong and remain attached to the weapon to deliver an electronic shock to disrupt voluntary muscle control. For the first time in our reported sharps exposure history, 2 separate BBP exposures involving ECD probes were reported at our medical center in the months of April and May of 2015. The first involved a staff member in our medical center's emergency department (ED) and the second concerned a law enforcement officer.