Number Of Needlestick Injuries Research Articles

IJCM_321A: Circumstances and Distribution of Needle Stick Injuries among Healthcare Workers in a Medical College of Kolkata

Background: Needle-stick injuries (NSI) are common among Health- Care workers (HCWs) during execution of their patient care services and have been recognized as an important source of exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Considerable number of NSIs are not reported which prevents injured HCWs from receiving post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against HIV, Hepatitis B and C. Objective: To assess the circumstances and reporting of Needle -stick Injuries and its association with service related and demographic variables of healthcare workers in a tertiary level hospital of Eastern India. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional, hospital-based study. The study was conducted among 108 healthcare workers from 20th July to 20th August. Data were collected on Socio-demographic, Service related and events of Needle Stick Injuries and their reporting by an interviewer administered schedule. Results: About 72% study participants suffered from needle stick injury in last one year, 53.85% of them had a single event of NSI and 64% of NSI victims reported the event. Gender, educational status, occupation, vaccination status against Hep B, shift of duty during last NSI, place of last NSI were significantly associated (p value). Conclusion: Incidents of needle stick injuries were more among doctors. Participants completely vaccinated with Hep B vaccine suffered lower number of NSI.

A survey of pain physicians: Needlesticks injuries.

To investigate and characterize the incidence of needlestick injuries (NSI) in a sample of practicing pain medicine physicians, with the ultimate goal of aiding to prevent these injuries by raising awareness of their prevalence. A cross-sectional research survey. A REDCap survey was emailed to physicians who had membership to the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Eligibility criteria included physicians who were actively practicing and identified as pain physicians who participated in procedures with needlesticks or sharps. Basic demographics without identifiers were collected, including practice setting, years in practice, and training type. Respondents were asked to estimate the number of sharps-involved procedure days per week and per day. They were then asked to estimate the number of NSIs they sustained since completing training and in the past year. A total of 430 surveys were opened by email by potential participants, of which 124 responded (response rate 29%). Data from a total of 109 respondents that met inclusion criteria were included. Roughly 60% of respondents reported at least one NSI since completing training and approximately one-third had sustained more than three NSIs. In the last year, roughly 19% of providers reported at least one needlestick injury. The number of NSIs reported by providers since completing training was not significantly associated with practice setting, the number of procedure days per week, or the number of sharps-involved procedures per day. There was a significant relationship between years post-training and number of NSIs since completing training, with providers with more years post-training reporting higher incidences of NSIs (p < 0.0005). The number of NSIs since completing training and the number of NSIs were also associated, with providers that had sustained a greater number of total NSIs reporting a higher incidence of NSIs within the last year (p < 0.0005). This study characterizes NSIs in a population of pain medicine physicians. These data warrant caution and will hopefully raise awareness amongst providers.

Assessment of adherence to infection prevention and control guidelines among dentists in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines is mandatory in healthcare service provision. We assessed the knowledge and adherence to IPC guidelines among dentists in the West Bank and Jerusalem. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of dentists in the West Bank and Jerusalem between 12 March 2019 and 9 May 2019. The total sample comprised 395 dentists, categorized into good compliance and fair compliance according to a scale developed from 32 questions. The Chi-squared test was used to compare the 2 categories. Data were analysed using SPSS, version 25. Overall compliance with IPC guidelines was low; only 18.5% of respondents reported good compliance. Compliance with basic principles such as wearing gloves and changing them for each patient and using autoclaves to sterilize equipment was high. Good compliance was significantly associated with age, years of experience, and year of graduation, P = 0.045, P = 0.036 and P = 0.007, respectively. Providers in the north of West Bank and public sector workers were significantly associated with good compliance, P = 0.018 and P ≤ 0.0001, respectively. Experiencing a needle stick injury and the number of needle stick injuries experienced were significantly inversely associated with good compliance, P ≤ 0.001. Based on our results, there is a need for substantial improvements in compliance with IPC guidelines by dentists in the West Bank and Jerusalem; mandatory education and training regulated by governing institutions would be very helpful.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Needle Stick Injuries Among Health Care Workers in Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Ghazy Al-Hariri Hospital for Surgical Specialties in 2020

Background: Needle stick injuries are serious occupational hazards in the transmission of a variety of bloodborne diseases, more than twenty pathogens can be transmitted through NSI including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) among healthcare workers. Objectives: Assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of health care workers towards needle stick injuries. Determine the prevalence of needle stick injuries among healthcare workers and its predisposing factors. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study, a convenient sample of 260 health care workers was selected from Baghdad Teaching hospital and Ghazy Al Hariri hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. Data were collected by an anonymous questionnaire from January to June 2020. The collected data were analyzed by using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS version 23). Results Prevalence of NSIs among HCWs was found to be 53.8%, which was higher in nurses (29.3%) and laboratory technicians (28.5%) followed by surgeon doctors (15.7%), assistant surgeons (13.6%) and dentists (12.9%) .The highest number of needle stick injuries occurred by recapping of needles (41.4%) followed by during drug administration (27.9%), from hand to hand (10.7%) and during blood drawing (7.9%). A proportion of (64.5%) of health care workers whom sustained needle stick injury had reported their Injury. Doctors scored better than others regarding mean scores of knowledge, attitude and practice. There was a highly significant association among knowledge, attitude and practice scores of the HCWs (P&lt;0.001). A considerable percentage of the participants (80.2%) were completely immunized against HBV. Conclusions: The study showed a high prevalence of NSIs among health care workers. The score of knowledge was high, moreover acceptable responses were obtained in most attitude and practice statements, except for recapping of needles statements.

The impact of emotional intelligence and personality traits on the occurrence of unsafe behaviors and needle stick injuries among the nurses

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence and some personality traits on safe behavior and needle stick injuries among the nurses. This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 nursing staff of a hospital in Iran. To collect data, individuals were asked to complete several questionnaires, including demographic questionnaire, domain-specific risk-taking questionnaire, Rosenberg self-confidence questionnaire, Buss-Perry aggression questionnaire, Goleman emotional intelligence questionnaire, and safe behavior questionnaire. Also, the number of needlestick injuries in the participants was extracted from their medical records. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 22), and path analysis was performed using AMOS software. The prevalence of needle stick injuries in the subjects was estimated by 45.5 percent. The results showed that increasing risk-taking, increasing aggression, decreasing self-confidence, and decreasing emotional intelligence reduced safe behavior and increased the number of needle injuries (P < 0.001). In the present study, some personal traits affecting the occurrence of needlestick injuries were identified. It is recommended that people without these negative traits are applied in dangerous occupations with a high probability of needle stick injuries.

COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL ARCH BARS WITH FIXATION SCREWS FOR INTERMAXILLARY FIXATION IN MANDIBULAR FRACTURES: A RANDOMIZED PROSPECTIVE CLINICAL STUDY.

Introduction: Occlusion is the way in which one’s maxillary and mandibular teeth relate to each other when the jaw is closed. When treating fractures of the mandible, the first and primary objective is to re-establish the patient’s premorbid occlusion which is required for the mastication and also the other objective is to achieve esthetics. Inter-maxillary fixation (IMF) plays a vital role in management of fractures involving maxilla and mandible & helps in stabilizing the patient’s occlusion and thus reduction in fracture segments. Many modalities for obtaining intermaxillary fixation like Arch bars, eyelets, interdental wiring, orthodontic braces and intermaxillary fixation screws have been considered. Every method used for intermaxillary fixation has its own merits and demerits. Materials and Method: A prospective randomized clinical study was conducted between 2015 to 2017 in Patients who reported with mandibular fractures to the department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Vydehi Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre. A total of 50 patients with mandibular fractures requiring internal fixation were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of patients in whom Erich’s arch bars were placed for IMF and Group B consisted of patients in whom IMFS were placed for IMF. Patients included were those who required IMF, Subjects in good health i.e; ASA I,II and III. Patients excluded were completely edentulous, ASA IV subjects, Comminuted fractures, Pediatric patients, Panfacial fractures. Results: Use of arch bars as seen in our results has a few disadvantages over IMF screws like time consumed in application and removal is more, Increased pain scores, Increased number of needle stick injuries and difficulty in maintaining oral hygiene, however it has its own advantages like it can be used in the treatment of dentoalveolar fractures, multiple teeth bearing fractured fragments can be reduced into an arch form. Use of IMF screws provide better oral hygiene status as well as same occlusal results as of arch bars. Decreased number of needle stick injuries and takes lesser time to apply and remove. IMF screws are useful in mandibular fractures which are not grossly displaced or comminuted. Conclusion: Use of both the techniques in achieving IMF is efficacious with both the techniques having merits and demerits over each other. Although both the techniques offer good temporary intermaxillary fixation, the benefits and risks of both the techniques should be weighed depending on the type of fracture we are dealing with. Keywords: IMF

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Introduction: Needlestick injuries (NSIs) are one of the most frequent routes of the transmission of bloodborne pathogens in health care settings and the substantial source of occupationally acquired bloodborne infections. They remain a significant problem for developing countries that lack the ability to implement more reliable technologies and available guidance because of the economic situation. The objectives of the study were to determine the frequency of NSIs among healthcare workers (HCWs) and supporting staff in primary health care, to investigate the factors that caused these injuries and to evaluate a set of implemented guides. Methods: A retrospective study of the Department of infection control records of NSIs between January 2003 and January 2016 was conducted. Incidence proportion (rate of injury risk) was calculated for each profession with reported NSIs. Results: A total of 156 NSIs and sharp injuries were reported to the Department of infection control during the 12-year period. Among the group of HCWs, medical nurses/technicians (54.49%) were the most common injured workers, and the lowest numbers were reported by a physical therapist and dental technicians (0.64%). In a total number of cases, support staff accounted for 16.67%. The most incidents occurred during the use of needles, in 146 (90.6%) cases. Calculated incidence proportion for medical doctors is 0.24%, 5.33% for dentists, and 13.8% for medical and dental nurses/technicians and laboratory technicians. For support staff, the calculated rate is 6.04%. Conclusions: At the primary health care level, the NSIs frequency among all employee profiles is lower and it is suggesting the possibility of underreporting cases. Healthcare facility management should consider introducing new and more reliable technologies to reduce the number of NSIs especially among nurses/technicians, laboratory technicians, and cleaning staff. Additional training and preventive measures should be directed towards the proper disposal of medical waste. Management of the Institution presented engagement to prevent the occurrence of NSIs, and it is a positive example for all countries in transition.

An investigation of insulin injection-related needlestick injuries among clinical nurses in Hunan, China

Objective: To investigate the incidence rate of insulin injection-related needlestick injuries, links causing such injuries, and reporting of occupational exposure among nurses in the wards of general hospitals in Hunan, China. Methods: From January 2017 to March 2019, stratified cluster sampling was performed to select 4368 nurses as respondents from 54 hospitals at different levels in 14 prefectures and cities of Hunan. The current status of insulin injection-related needlestick injuries was investigated, including the high-risk links causing insulin injection-related needlestick injuries during the use of insulin syringe (pen) , time and number of needlestick injuries, infection after needlestick injuries, and reporting of needlestick injuries, and a statistical analysis was performed. Continuous data were described as mean±standard deviation, and categorical data were described by percentage (%) . Results: Among the 3697 nurses who were investigated, 1419 (38.4%) once had needlestick injuries related to insulin injection, among whom 413 (29.1%) had needlestick injuries in the past 1 year. The mean number of insulin injection-related needle stick injuries was 1.92±1.80, with a mean number of 0.57±1.18 caused by insulin syringe, 1.30±1.15 caused by the anterior segment of insulin pen, and 0.32±0.81 caused by the posterior end of insulin pen. Among the 1419 nurses with a history of needlestick injuries, 90 (6.3%) had related infection, mainly HBV infection, and after the occurrence of needlestick injuries, 26.0% (369/1419) of these nurses reported it every time and 15.2% (215/1419) never reported it. "Fear of trouble" was the main reason for no reporting (69.1%, 980/1419) , followed by "the thought of no risk" (43.2%, 613/1419) and "no related policy in hospital" (10.9%, 154/1419) ". Among these 1419 nurses, 49.8% (706/1419) were treated according to the standard process for needlestick injuries in hospital every time, and 3.6% (51/1419) did not know such process or there was no such standard process. Conclusion: The current situation of insulin injection-related needlestick injuries is not optimistic among clinical nurses in Hunan, and the incidence rate of needlestick injuries cannot be ignored.

Needlestick injuries of healthcare workers

Injuries of healthcare workers with sharp instruments are considered among the most frequent occupational accidents in hospitals. In at least half of the cases, the instruments are contaminated with blood and therefore bear an infection risk with bloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitisB, hepatitisC and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Needlestick injuries require besides immediate medical intervention, such as rinsing and disinfection of the wound or skin contamination, aprompt clarification of the immune status and if necessary apostexposure prophylaxis. Furthermore, follow-up examinations are required for up to 6months after the accident. Information about the infectious state of the index person considerably facilitates the procedure. All healthcare workers should know the management of needlestick injuries. Preventive measures refer to the reduction of the number of needlestick injuries by improving work organization and usage of needle devices with safety features as well as to the reduction of infection risk by hepatitisB vaccination and wearing safety gloves.

Determinants of Needle Stick Injuries Among Healthcare Providers at a Tehran University Hospital in 2016: A Descriptive Report.

Needle Stick Injuries (NSIs) are the most common occupational injuries among HCWs. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and distribution of determinants for such injuries in a university hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in Ziaeian Hospital, a teaching hospital of Tehran University. The medical records of 55 Health Care Workers (HCWs) who experienced NSIs in 2016, were extracted from the hospital registry and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Available data of 55 HCWs with a history of NSIs were extracted from the hospital registry. The highest number of NSIs belonged to registered nurses (34.6%), licensed practical nurses (14.5%) and medical doctors (12.7%), respectively. The majority of the NSIs occurred in the morning shift (50.9%) followed by night shift (36.4%) and evening shift (12.7%). Most of the NSIs occurred in the emergency department (38.1%) and operating room (18.2%). The healthcare workers reported fatigue as the most common reason for being injured by needles (67.4%). All the HCWs were trained and familiarized with the safety and risk control measures after needle stick exposures in the hospital. The present study described the determinants of NSIs among HCWs in a university hospital. The fatigue and working overload were the main reasons for NSIs. The results of this study could be used to address the shortcoming in the guidelines and protocols to ensure the sustainable safety measures that could reduce the occurrence of the NSIs in hospitals in Iran.

Needlestick injuries of healthcare workers

Injuries of healthcare workers with sharp instruments are considered among the most frequent occupational accidents in hospitals. In at least half of the cases, the instruments are contaminated with blood and therefore bear an infection risk with bloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitisB, hepatitisC and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Needlestick injuries require besides immediate medical intervention, such as rinsing and disinfection of the wound or skin contamination, aprompt clarification of the immune status and if necessary apostexposure prophylaxis. Furthermore, follow-up examinations are required for up to 6months after the accident. Information about the infectious state of the index person considerably facilitates the procedure. All healthcare workers should know the management of needlestick injuries. Preventive measures refer to the reduction of the number of needlestick injuries by improving work organization and usage of needle devices with safety features as well as to the reduction of infection risk by hepatitisB vaccination and wearing safety gloves.

Manual accidents, biological risk control, and quality indicators at a children's hospital in north-east Italy.

BackgroundWorking in health care carries the risk of transmission of infected blood to patients by hospital workers and to other health personnel in the form of occupational infections. Conscientious application of the standard precautions is the main method used to avoid needle stick injuries, contamination of skin and mucous membranes, cuts with sharp tools, and inadequate disposal and recapping of needles. The aim of this work was to investigate in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a region in north-east Italy, the enhancement carried out to prevent situations of biologic risk for health care workers, and to verify the related laboratory analyses.MethodsBiological accidents occurring during the years 2012–2013 in the departments of oncology and pediatric-obstetric surgery, and in the intensive care unit at Burlo Garofolo Children’s Hospital in Trieste (a large town in Friuli Venezia Giulia) were reviewed, and a new panel of tests was introduced for patients and health care workers, to also detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and aspartate transaminase and immunoglobulin G. All tests were submitted for external quality assessment.ResultsIn total, 230 nosocomial events were reported by health care workers in the above-mentioned hospital departments in 2012–2013. There were 158 accidents in 2012, including 55 accidental needle stick injuries (34.81%), 59 blood splashes (37.34%), and 44 cuts with infected instruments (27.84%). The risk of sustaining a cut was related to movement error during surgery when the appropriate procedure was not followed or when devices were being assembled and passed between doctors and nurses. Most accidents happened among physicians compared to nurses; the high percentage of needle stick injuries (34.81%) versus nurses (25.94%) were due to incorrect recapping of needles after use. No cases of health care workers being infected with HCV, HBV, or HIV were identified. In 2013, the number of biological accidents decreased to 61, comprising two needle stick injuries (3.27%), 35 blood splashes (57.37%), and 25 cuts with contaminated instruments (40.98%). The number of subcutaneous abscesses with scarring resulting from cuts with sharp instruments decreased from three in 2012 (one of which was the subject of medicolegal proceedings) to none in 2013. Although our study population was relatively small, we did detect a statistically significant decrease in the number of needle stick injuries (P<0.05, χ2 test).ConclusionIn this early experience at a maternal and child health institution in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, application of a safety protocol, centralized organization of HIV tests, improved external quality assessment, and introduction of internal quality control for immunoglobulin G contributed to a decrease in the number of work-related biological accidents and their complications, which have the potential to result in medicolegal problems.

Prospective and Retrospective Incidence and Post-exposure Reporting of Needlestick Injuries

Background: Most studies on the incidence rate (IR) and post-exposure reporting rate (RR) of needle-stick injuries (NSIs) were performed using retrospective surveillance, which is vulnerable to recall bias. This study aimed to identify the agreement between IRs and RRs obtained from prospective and retrospective surveillance. Methods: The prospective surveillance was performed with 716 nurses working at 3 hospitals from August to September in 2012. They prospectively reported when they experienced the NSIs, and the investigator retrospectively calculated the RR from records in the infection control unit or health care unit during the same periods when they reported the number of NSIs. The retrospective surveillance was carried out with 312 nurses who participated in the prospective surveillance. They retrospectively answered the question on the number of NSIs and post-exposure reporting after recalling the experienced NSI from August to September in 2012. Results: The IR of NSIs was 9.8 per 100 nurses by the prospective surveillance and 36.4 per 100 nurses by the retrospective surveillance, which was statistically significantly different (P<0.001). The RR of NSIs was 14.3% by the prospective surveillance and 8.5% by the retrospective surveillance, which was not statistically significantly different. Conclusion: We recommend using a prospective approach for calculating the IR of NSIs to reduce the risk of recall bias. However, the RR of NSIs can be calculated using both prospective and retrospective approaches.

Behavior, perception and compliance related to adoption of safety measures in response to needle stick injuries among nursing personnel at a tertiary care institute of North India

Background: Needle stick injuries (NSIs) caused by sharp instruments such as hypodermic needles, blood collection needles; intravenous (IV) cannula or needles used to connect parts of IV delivery system are common in clinical practice. A potential risk of transmission of various fatal diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, hepatitis and others have been a matter of serious concern in busy clinical settings. Aim and Objectives: The present survey study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of NSIs among nursing personnel of our institute so as to identify the potential risk factors responsible for possibly acquiring NSIs. The study also aims to reinforce uniformly the recommended preventive measures by the nursing personnel in our institute with the formulation and implementation of newer preventive strategies by hospital authorities. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from July 2012 to November 2012 in the nursing department of our hospital. Informed verbal consent was taken from nursing personnel prior to distribution of the self-reporting questionnaire. Questions related to awareness such as cause of NSIs, number of NSIs, procedures that caused NSIs, clinical response of personnel after injury, preventive measures like hepatitis B immunization, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and reasons for not using the PPE and training regarding prevention of NSIs were also included. A total of 179 staff nurses from all clinical areas of the hospital participated in this study excluding those who were on any kind of long leave. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 15 for windows and value of P < 0.05 was considered as significant and P < 0.001 as highly significant. Results: Almost more than half of the nursing personnel (57.5%) had NSIs at one occasion or the other. Nearly 58% nursing personnel had NSIs for 3-times and few had even more than 10 times. NSIs during bedside care of the patient (57.2%) were reported as one of the significant potentially vulnerable location to get the NSIs as compared with the operation theater and emergency (5%) areas (P < 0.001). About 92% of the nursing personnel reported that needles used in routine injection practices were the main instrument that caused NSIs as compared with the hypodermic needle and surgical blades. Recapping of needles (66%) was the main procedure that caused NSIs as compared to IV line (20.4%) and others (P < 0.001). Around 81% nurses were already vaccinated against hepatitis B before the survey study. Conclusion: NSIs are highly prevalent among nurses. Injection practices have to be improved with reinforcing and modification of existing preventive measures. Procedures associated with higher risks of NSIs such as recapping of needles, non-wearing of gloves, improper disposal of sharps and others should be strongly discouraged so as to decrease the incidence of NSIs and morbidity and mortality associated with it.

Reducing sharps injuries in veterinary practice

Sharps are used in the veterinary environment on a daily basis. The NHS European Office (2013) has recently changed the guidelines to sharps, to reduce the number of incidents occurring and the costs involved from related injuries causing time off for sickness, from counselling and from tests in the NHS for blood-borne pathogens. There is little evidence on the number of needle-stick injuries in veterinary practice in the UK compared with in America, Canada, Australia and in the NHS. This article highlights alternative consumable devices that can be used in place of sharps to protect staff in veterinary practice, the correct and safe disposal of sharps and the risks involved with the use of sharps.

Reduction of needlestick injuries in healthcare personnel at a university hospital using safety devices

BackgroundHealthcare personnel (HCP) is exposed to bloodborne pathogens through occupational risk factors. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of needlestick injuries (NSIs) before and after the introduction of safety devices in all departments of our hospital.MethodsData was extracted from mandatory needlestick report forms of the hospital’s Occupational Health Service. Serological results of patients and healthcare personnel (HCP) were reviewed in the laboratory information system.ResultsIn 2007, the year before the introduction of safety devices, 448 needlestick injuries were self-reported, corresponding to an annual rate of 69.0 NSIs per 1 000 full-time HCP. The highest incidence was observed among medical staff in the surgery department and internal medicine with 152 (33.9%) and 79 (17.6%) NSIs, respectively. Of all occupational groups, nurses (36.2%) had the highest risk to sustain NSIs. In 2008 safety devices were introduced across the hospital, e.g. peripheral venous catheter, hypodermic needle and stapling system for wound sealing providing active or passive protection. In 2009, the year after introduction of safety devices, only 350 NSIs were reported, the annual rate of NSIs decreased to 52.4 per 1 000 full-time HCP. Thus an overall reduction of 21.9% for NSIs was achieved when safer devices were applied. The number of NSIs was reduced by even 50% for blood withdrawal, for use of peripheral venous catheters and application of hypodermic needles.ConclusionThe application of safety devices led to a reduction of NSIs and significantly reduces the risk of bloodborne infections.

Effect of Sharps Injury Prevention Program on the Incidence and Reporting of Sharp Injury among Nurses

2 2 , Yangsan, Korea Background: This study aimed to identify the effects of a multifaceted needlestick injury (NSI) prevention program on changes in knowledge about bloodborne infectious diseases and postexposure coping, attitudes toward postexposure reporting, preventive measures, the number of NSIs, and postexposure reporting pre- and post-intervention among nurses. Methods: A total of 429 and 420 nurses participated in the pre- and post-intervention periods, respectively. The intervention was performed from April to September 2007, comprising NSI guideline education, the of containers with enhanced engineering, and the supply of safety devices. Results: The average score of knowledge about bloodborne infectious diseases increased significantly from 8.3 to 8.9 out of 14 points (P<0.001), but the change in score of knowledge about postexposure coping was insignificant. The average score of attitude toward postexposure reporting increased significantly from 8.9 to 9.6 out of 12 points (P <0.001). Preventive measures such as gloves are provided whenever needed (P<0.001), use one-hand technique (P<0.001), and needle containers are provided whenever needed (P=0.031) increased significantly. The number of NSIs decreased by 40.4%, and the postexposure reporting rate increased by 552.8%. Conclusion: The multifaceted NSI prevention program positively affected knowledge about infectious diseases and postexposure coping, attitudes toward postexposure reporting, preventive measures, the number of NSIs, and postexposure reporting after intervention. Therefore, we recommend that this program be applied to various healthcare workers in hospitals.

Decreasing Central Line Infections and Needlestick Injury Rates

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of practice and intravenous (IV) therapy product changes on central line infections (CLIs) and needlestick injuries. Data were collected in 2009 and 2010 for 1 year before and after implementation of practice and product changes. Statistical significance was noted when comparing CLIs before and after implementation of an antimicrobial IV connector. The number of needlestick injuries also decreased by 12% during this time. Study results support ongoing clinical practice monitoring and education as well as the use of a luer-activated IV therapy system and an antimicrobial IV connector.

Medical students' knowledge of sharps injuries

Healthcare workers (HCWs) including medical students are at risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses following sharps incidents including needlestick injuries. The recent Department of Health guidelines recommend that all HCWs entering a career involving exposure-prone procedures should be tested for hepatitis C, making preventative strategies even more relevant. A survey of current medical students' knowledge regarding prevention of sharps injuries in Birmingham, UK was carried out to determine their awareness of these risks and to compare the findings with an earlier cohort of students. Two hundred and fifty-six medical students were enrolled into the study. Their knowledge of needlestick injury, prevention and management had significantly improved compared with the previous study. This demonstrates that intensive teaching and self-learning programmes can improve the knowledge of HCWs and reduce the number of needlestick injuries.

Preventing needlesticks in emergency medical system workers.

Emergency medical system (EMS) workers frequently use sharp devices in injury-prone circumstances that involve limited visibility, confined spaces, rapidly moving vehicles, and uncooperative victims. This study examined the efficacy of an automatic self-retracting lancet in reducing needlestick injuries and related direct and indirect costs. Subjects were 477 active-duty EMS workers. Counseling, laboratory testing (hepatitis B and C, hepatic function enzymes, and human immunodeficiency virus), antiviral prophylaxis, and immunizations were provided according to US Public Health Service guidelines. Baseline and biennial laboratory testing for hepatitis B and C and liver function enzymes were conducted. After the introduction of a spring-loaded automatic-retracting type glucometer lancet device, needlestick injuries decreased from 16 per 954 EMS worker-years to 2 per 477 EMS worker-years. The annualized cost of treatment declined from $8276 to $2068. The change to a self-retracting device decreased the number of needlestick injuries and was cost-effective with a minimal increase in device cost (annualized $366 per year).