Process improvement to effectively manage and reduce sharps injuries in a Tertiary Hospital in Northern India.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Needle stick injuries are associated with a 0.3-30% risk of transmission of Human Immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis C virus, and Hepatitis B virus. Despite causing psychological trauma they also involve a huge financial burden. A robust process improvement (RPI) toolkit was introduced in order to effectively manage and reduce needle stick injuries, as well as an attempt to report prevalence, post-exposure management, and associated economic burden. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective Observational Study (2015-2018) has been design in a Corporate Tertiary Care Hospital. The participants included were needle stick injuries exposed staff. RPI toolkit was implemented (2015-2018) focusing on root cause analysis, availability of safety engineered devices, immunization and post-exposure management of needle stick injuries exposed staff. The main outcome measure was needle stick injuries incidence. RESULTS: A total of 211 needle stick injuries were reported (mean - 52.72/year, needle stick injury incidence - 13.18/year/100 beds). Yearly trends showed a decrease of 21.3% in injuries from 2015 (61) to 2018 (48). Half (106, 50%) of the total injuries were reported among nurses. Use of hypodermic needles was involved in 116 (55%) injuries, with 114 (54%) occurring due to nonadherence to hospital policies. Overall, 204 staff had protective immunity, and 135 (64%) of these had completed their Hepatitis B immunizations. The source was known in 165 (78%) cases, and 113 of these cases had an injury from a source with negative viral markers. A 6-month follow-up was completed in 90 cases. No seroconversion was reported. Overall costs incurred in post-exposure prophylaxis was approximately €30,000 (mean cost €143.50/needle stick injury). CONCLUSION: Nurses are most at risk of needle stick injury in healthcare settings. Implementation of RPI toolkit led to a 21.3% reduction in sharps injury incidences. These injuries incur huge financial burden on the hospital. Appropriate immunization strategies saved about €1360 expenditure on post-exposure prophylaxis.

Incidence and reporting of sharps injuries amongst ENT surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Sharps injuries are a common occupational hazard amongst surgeons. Limited work has been conducted on their effects within the ENT community. METHODS: A literature review was performed and a survey on sharps injuries was distributed to the entire membership of ENT-UK electronically. RESULTS: The literature review revealed 3 studies, with 2 of them performed more than 20 years ago. A total of 323 completed questionnaires were returned (24 per cent response rate). Of the respondents, 26.6 per cent reported having experienced sharps injuries. There was no statistical difference between the occurrence of sharps injuries and the grade, length of time spent in the specialty or subspecialty of respondents. Only 33.7 per cent of afflicted clinicians reported all their injuries as per local institutional policies. No seroconversions were reported. CONCLUSION: The study found poor evidence on sharps injuries amongst ENT surgeons, and low reporting rates that were comparable to other studies conducted in the UK. This highlights the need for further research and increasing awareness on sharps injuries regulations within the specialty.

Dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes versus acidentes com exposição a material biológico / Safety-engineered sharp devices versus accidents with exposure to biological material / Dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes versus accidentes con exposición a material biológico

Objetivou-se analisar, a partir da literatura, a relação entre a incorporação de dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes e a ocorrência de acidentes de trabalho com o uso desses instrumentos, envolvendo profissionais da área da saúde. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, realizada nos bancos de dados Scientific Eletronic Library Online e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, cujos descritores foram segurança de equipamentos, gestão de risco, prevenção de acidentes, exposição a agentes biológicos e pessoal de saúde. Como resultado, foram encontrados 14 artigos, publicados no período de 2006 a 2014, os quais foram discutidos em duas categorias: dispositivo de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes e acidentes utilizando instrumentos perfurocortantes com e sem dispositivo de segurança. Conclui-se que a incorporação de dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes proporciona redução de acidentes relacionados à exposição a material biológico; favorece economicamente a instituição; promove a segurança e a saúde dos trabalhadores e, consequentemente, melhora a qualidade da assistência prestada aos clientes.

This integrative literature review, to examine the relationship between safety engineering of sharp devices and the occurrence of accidents among health care professionals using these devices, was conducted on the Scientific Electronic Library Online and Virtual Health Library databases, with the descriptors [in Portuguese] equipment safety, risk management, accident prevention, exposure to biological agents, and health personnel. The 14 articles found as a result were discussed in two categories: safety engineering on sharp devices, and accidents using sharp devices with and without safety engineering. It was concluded that safety engineering on sharp devices has yielded a reduction in accidents involving exposure to biological material; favors the institution economically; promotes workers' health and safety and, consequently, improves the quality of client care.

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre la incorporación de dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes y la ocurrencia de accidentes laborales al usar estos instrumentos, con la participación de profesionales de la salud, a partir de la literatura. Se trata de una revisión integradora de literatura realizada en los bancos de datos Scientific Eletronic Library Online y Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, cuyos descriptores fueron seguridad de equipos, gestión de riesgos, prevención de accidentes, exposición a agentes biológicos y personal de salud. Como resultado, se encontraron 14 artículos, publicados en el periodo de 2006 a 2014, que fueron discutidos en dos categorías: dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes, y accidentes utilizando instrumentos cortopunzantes con y sin dispositivos de seguridad. Se concluye que la incorporación de dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes proporciona una reducción de accidentes relacionados con la exposición a material biológico; favorece económicamente la institución; promueve la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores y, consecuentemente, mejora la calidad de la asistencia proporcionada a los clientes.

Understanding the hospital sharps injury reporting pathway.

BACKGROUND: Patient-care workers are frequently exposed to sharps injuries, which can involve the risk of serious illness. Underreporting of these injuries can compromise prevention efforts. METHODS: We linked survey responses of 1,572 non-physician patient-care workers with the Occupational Health Services (OHS) database at two academic hospitals. We determined whether survey respondents who said they had sharps injuries indicated that they had reported them and whether reported injuries were recorded in the OHS database. RESULTS: Respondents said that they reported 62 of 78 sharps injuries occurring over a 12-month period. Only 28 appeared in the OHS data. Safety practices were positively associated with respondents' saying they reported sharps injuries but not with whether reported injuries appeared in the OHS data. CONCLUSIONS: Administrators should consider creating reporting mechanisms that are simpler and more direct. Administrators and researchers should attempt to understand how incidents might be lost before they are recorded.