Abstract
BACKGROUND: Needle stick injuries are a dangerous occupational hazard that threatens health care workers with serious consequences in many cases. Because of inadequate reporting of these incidents, the true magnitude of the problem is unknown. The study’s aim was to investigate the epidemiology of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health care workers in Al Madinah Al Munawara, Saudi Arabia. 
 
 METHODS: A representative sample of health care workers (n=268) were randomly selected from emergency departments of three general hospitals in Al Madinah Al Munawara for a cross-sectional study, and 219 responded to a predesigned questionnaire reflecting exposure to NSI, reporting, post-exposure reactions, and knowledge about NSIs.
 
 RESULTS: Almost one third of the participating medical professionals 70 (32%) had been exposed to stick injury during work. One half of the needles (52.9%) were blood stained. Nurses are significantly more likely to have stick injury (38.6%) followed by physicians (30.4%) if compared to laboratory technicians (13.9%) at the p-value of less than 0.05. The main purposes during injuries were drawing blood sample 33 (47.1%), injection 31 (44.3%) and suturing 23 (32.9%). Almost all injured personnel (97.1%) cleaned the injury site immediately and thoroughly. Out of the injured personnel, 50 (71.4%) reported the incident to authorities. A significantly higher proportion of physicians (91.3%) achieved above average score if compared to both lab technicians (72.2%) and nurses (76.3%) at the p-value of less than 0.05.
 
 CONCLUSION: Occupational needle stick injuries are fairly common among health care workers at Al Madinah Al Munawara’s governmental hospitals. In hospitals, deliberate efforts should be made to ensure adherence to safety guidelines governing needle stick injuries.
Highlights
In recent decades, occupational exposure among healthcare workers (HCWs) has increased
Needle stick injuries (NSI) are accidental skin penetrations caused by sharp instruments in HCWs, with a high risk of occupational transmission of blood-borne pathogens
One-third of them (32%) reported that they had been injured by a needle stick at work. These findings are similar to those reported in Ethiopia, where 30.1 percent of health-care workers were injured by needles within a year. (Mideksa & Feyera, 2014) a much higher incidence was discovered in North India, where 73 (68.2 percent ) HCWs reported needle stick injuries. (Ashat, Bhatia, Puri, Thakare, & Koushal, 2011) in a university hospital in Jamaica, where more than three-quarters of medical doctors (78 percent ) and two-thirds of nurses (64 percent ) experienced NSIs. (Vaz, McGrowder, Crawford, Alexander-Lindo, & Irving, 2010) These differences could be attributed to differences in the strength of the regulatory rules and instructions followed in these hospitals, as well as the degree of compliance of the health staff with the precautionary standards adopted in different places
Summary
Occupational exposure among healthcare workers (HCWs) has increased. HCWs are frequently exposed to medical sharp instruments (Huang et al, 2017). Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are one of the most common hazards for HCWs, nurses (Tawil, 2016). There is a risk of infection transmission if the sharp instrument is contaminated with blood or bodily fluids (Deisenhammer, Radon, Nowak, & Reichert, 2006). Needle stick injuries are a dangerous occupational hazard that threatens health care workers with serious consequences in many cases. The study’s aim was to investigate the epidemiology of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among health care workers in Al Madinah Al Munawara, Saudi Arabia
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