Nurses, housekeeping staff at most risk from needles
Nurses, housekeeping staff at most risk from needles
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports that data from 60 U.S. hospitals show health care workers suffer about 384,325 sharps and percutaneous injuries annually. These findings were presented recently at the International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections in Atlanta.
The CDC estimates that 6% to 30% of health care workers who receive a needlestick injury from a patient positive with hepatitis B antigen will become infected. Nearly 12,000 health care workers contract work-related hepatitis B infections every year. From 500 to 600 of those workers require hospitalization; 250 will ultimately die from the infection or a related disorder. Between 700 and 1,200 will become chronic virus carriers.
Statistics from the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) indicate that the risk of infection with HIV is small but still significant. A health care worker who sustains a single needlestick from a patient known to be infected with HIV has less than a five in 1,000 chance of becoming infected.
Studies and surveys from the CDC indicated that nurses have the highest frequency of needlestick injury reports, and housekeeping staff are second. Laboratory staff and phlebotomists also have high rates, as do nursing students and medical students. Other high-risk groups include pharmacists, dialysis personnel, inhalation therapists, laundry workers, physicians and dietary staff.
Nursing needlestick injuries usually are associated with procedural problems and recapping, with a few sticks occurring because of stray needles. General use syringes account for most sticks because they are more abundant than other needles, but a greater risk of injury appears to come from those procedures that require several needles. Heparin flushes, for instance, produce at least three contaminated needles that are usually not disposed of until after the procedure. IV butterflies with entangled loops of tubing also pose a hazard. When nurses must exert force to counter resistance during the withdrawal of a needle, the risk of injury also increases.
Housekeeping, laundry and dietary staff needlestick injuries are always associated with improper disposal of needles by clinical staff and stray needles. Laboratory workers sustain needlestick injuries during procedures and recapping. One study found that vacuum tube phlebotomy was associated with an injury rate four times higher than the rate when disposable syringes are used. Recapping must be done because the needle has to be unscrewed from its reusable holder.
For more needlestick data and information on prevention strategies, see the OSHA web site at www.osha.gov/SLTC/bloodbornepathogens/index.html and the American Nurses Association site at http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Occupationaland Environmental/occupationalhealth/SafeNeedles.aspx.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports that data from 60 U.S. hospitals show health care workers suffer about 384,325 sharps and percutaneous injuries annually. These findings were presented recently at the International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections in Atlanta.Subscribe Now for Access
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