Abstract
BackgroundNeedlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) represent an important occupational health issue in veterinary practice. Little is known about the distribution and correlates of NSI among Australian veterinarians.MethodsA questionnaire-based NSI survey was mailed to 1094 veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland during 2006.ResultsA total of 664 surveys were returned from 1038 eligible participants (response rate 64.0%) with 56.8% being male, around one-third in the >50 years age group and about half aged 31-50 years. Just over two-fifths were working in small animal practice only. Around three quarters (75.3%) reported suffering at least one NSI in the previous 12 months, while 58.9% reported suffering from at least one contaminated NSI during the previous 12 months, which crudely extrapolates to an exposure rate of 75.3 and 58.9 NSI per 100 person-years respectively. Risk factors for contaminated NSI were female gender, working in small or mixed animal practice, being less experienced, seeing more patients per week and working longer hours per week. The most common causative devices were syringes (63.7%), suture needles (50.6%) and scalpel blades (34.8%).ConclusionThe exposure rate of NSI is high for Queensland veterinarians and clearly remains a major occupational health problem. Current guidelines and strategies to reduce NSI in veterinary practice should be promoted, but appear to be adapted from human health care. Studies to understand why veterinarians have such high NSI rates are required to not only identify risk factors for NSI, but also to determine attitudes and beliefs about NSI. From these studies specific strategies for veterinarians can be designed and trialed to develop evidence-based guidelines and policies that are effective in decreasing the exposure rate of NSI in veterinary practice.
Highlights
Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) represent an important occupational health and safety issue in contemporary health care practice
Communicable diseases transmitted by NSI that commonly trouble health care workers (HCW), such as viral hepatitis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, are of little concern for veterinarians, except those dealing with non-human primates [1]
The high exposure rate of NSI revealed during this study suggest that is very important that veterinarians observe basic measures for reducing NSI, which are discussed elsewhere [1], and examine the possibility of using safer devices [1]
Summary
Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) represent an important occupational health and safety issue in contemporary health care practice. We could locate only two reports in veterinary practice where a NSI resulted in a zoonotic disease: Herpesvirus simiae from a Rhesus monkey that infected an animal attendant after a NSI [5] and blastomycosis that developed in a veterinarian after a NSI associated with a fine needle aspiration [6]. The recent NSI of a veterinarian while euthanizing a horse positive for Hendra virus, a PC4 emerging infectious disease agent with a high case fatality rate, highlighted the potential zoonotic risks that veterinarians face [7], blood borne transmission of zoonotic pathogens have been considered a minor hazard for veterinarians. Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) represent an important occupational health issue in veterinary practice. Little is known about the distribution and correlates of NSI among Australian veterinarians
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