Abstract
A multi-center survey on sharp injuries (SIs) among hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) in seven provinces of China between August and December 2011 was performed. In each province, HCWs from at least 30 hospitals were surveyed by completing a SI report form adapted from the EPINet. The HCWs who declared SIs during the period were interviewed by local infection control practitioners. The survey included 361 hospitals and 206,711 HCWs, most of whom were nurses (47.5%) or doctors (28.4%). In the previous month, 17,506 SI incidents were declared by 13,110 (6.3%) HCWs, corresponding to 1,032 incidents per 1,000 HCWs per year and 121.3 per 100 occupied beds per year. The majority of the SIs was caused by a hollow-bore needle (63.0%). The source patient was identified in 73.4% of all SIs but only 4.4% of all exposures involved a source patient who tested positive for HBV (3.3%), HCV (0.4%) or HIV (0.1%). Only 4.6% of SIs were reported to the infection control team in the hospitals. In conclusion, the rate of SI among HCWs is high in China and SI represents a severe but largely neglected problem. Awareness and safety climate should be promoted to protect the safety of HCWs in China.
Highlights
A multi-center survey on sharp injuries (SIs) among hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) in seven provinces of China between August and December 2011 was performed
The major findings of this survey include the following: (1) the SI rate was high; (2) nurses and trainees experienced more SIs than other occupational groups such as doctors and technicians; (3) SI rates varied by provinces; (4) most SIs occurred in patient rooms or operating rooms and were caused by hollow-bore needles, especially disposable syringe needles, or by scalpel blades or steel suture needles; (5) the source patient could be identified in most cases of SIs but few source patients were tested positive for a blood-borne viruses (BBVs); (6) the vast majority of SIs were not reported; (7) most HCWs declared that they had received training despite high SI rates; (8) training was associated with a lower SI rate
The SI rate was estimated as 1,032 incidents per 1,000 HCW-year
Summary
A multi-center survey on sharp injuries (SIs) among hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) in seven provinces of China between August and December 2011 was performed. Occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses (BBVs) such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a major threat to healthcare workers (HCWs) during their daily works. In East Asia, up to 8,319 percutaneous injuries were estimated among HCWs in Taiwan[3] and a survey on 3,079 registered nurses in 60 hospitals in South Korea revealed that 70.4% of those surveyed declared sharp injuries (SIs)[4]. Occupational exposure can lead to infections of BBVs. It was estimated that about 66,000 HBV, 16,000 HCV and about 1,000 HIV infections might have occurred among HCWs worldwide due to percutaneous injuries in a single year[5]. A retrospective large-scale multi-site survey on SIs among HCWs was organized and conducted in China
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