Causes of Needlestick and Sharps Injuries When Using Devices with and without Safety Features.

Madeleine Dulon,Johanna Stranzinger,Dana Wendeler,Albert Nienhaus

doi:10.3390/ijerph17238721

Abstract

Safety-engineered devices (SEDs) have been developed to protect healthcare personnel (HCP) from needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs). The aim of this study was to analyze NSIs associated with SEDs and non-SEDs among HCP in hospitals, medical offices and care facilities. Records from online questionnaires on NSIs were used. Causes of NSIs were compared for SED use and healthcare setting. A sample of 835 files was included. Injuries with SEDs accounted for 35.0% of all NSIs, whereas the proportions were higher in medical offices and lower in care facilities. NSIs in nurses were more often associated with SEDs than NSIs in physicians. NSIs from intravenous needles were associated with SEDs in more than 60% of cases in hospitals and medical offices and in about 30.0% of cases in care facilities. In contrast, suturing was associated with every fourth NSI in hospitals, of which fewer than 10.0% were associated with SEDs. In care facilities, SEDs were involved in 36.1% of NSIs during subcutaneous injections. NSIs during disposal accounted for 29.2% of total NSIs, of which 36.1% were associated with SEDs. Frequent reasons for SED-associated NSIs were technical problems, unexpected patient movement and problems during disposal. Our analysis shows that many NSIs are associated with SEDs. Continuous training is necessary in the handling and disposal of SEDs.

Highlights

In industrial countries, accidental needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) are the predominant sharps-related problem for healthcare personnel (HCP) [1]
2063 records were received on the BGW server via the online NSI tool portal during the accident, information was assessed on the type of device involved (“Which device led to your injury?”)
2063 records were received on the BGW server via the online NSI tool portal during the collection period, of which 835 (40.5%) satisfied the inclusion criteria

Summary

Introduction

Accidental needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) are the predominant sharps-related problem for healthcare personnel (HCP) [1]. In addition to the risk of becoming infected with a blood-borne virus and suffering chronic diseases, NSIs may cause psychological effects, and the management of NSIs can be expensive [2]. In order to reduce the incidence of NSIs and to protect the safety of HCP, regulations on the prevention of sharps injuries in hospitals and the healthcare sector—such as the 2001 Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act and the 2010 EU Directive 2010/23/EU—have been issued to promote the dissemination of safety-engineered devices (SEDs) [6,7]. Safety features are designed to shield the needle or other sharp objects after use and are available for blood collection systems, intravenous systems, hypodermic injection needles, suture needles, lancets and scalpels

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion