Hand dexterity in hospital personnel with multiple needlestick injuries.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that multiple needlestick injuries in hospital employees may be due to intrinsic deficits in hand dexterity. DESIGN: A case-control study comparing employees with multiple reported needlestick injuries to those with none. Hand dexterity was tested using the Purdue Pegboard Test, a standardized validated test of hand dexterity. SETTING: A 300-bed, acute care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen hospital employees who sustained four or more injuries were compared to 19 controls. RESULTS: No differences were detected in hand dexterity between the case and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: While employees with multiple needlestick injuries accounted for 85% of reported injuries, underlying factors responsible for injuries in this high-risk subgroup do not include measurable deficits in hand dexterity.