Sharp Object Injury & Needlestick Summary Data;
N=36 US Health Systems, EPINet 2019
Clinical Lab
Phlebotomist/
Med Tech
C.N.A. or HHA
Technologist
Surg Attend
Medical
Student
Other
Nursing
Student
Doctor
Attending
16.4%
Nurse
34.8%
Doctor
Resident/
Intern
16.8%
100 ADC, according to EPINet data; for blood and body fluid
exposures, the total rate was 12.6 per 100 ADC.
The 2019 EPINet data, the most recent available from the
International Safety Center, shows that for sharps-related injuries,
nurses continue to be among the occupational groups most
impacted by sharps injuries. According to EPINet data, there
were 483 (36.5 percent) incidents among nurses, followed by
attending staff physicians (194/14.7 percent); physicians who
are interns/residents/fellows (174/13.1 percent); and surgery
attendants (167/12.6 percent). Due to recent advances in
safety-engineered products, there were just 49 incidents (3.7
percent) among phlebotomists.
Mitchell emphasized that safety extends through the use and
life cycle of a device, as 24.4 percent of all injuries reported are
to the non-user. For example, healthcare environmental services
personnel/housekeepers are clearly not expecting to be stuck
by a sharp device and may not know if that injury can result in
an exposure to a bloodborne pathogens. Healthcare laundry
workers are also at risk of being injured by sharps from errant
sharps devices gathered up in used linens and/or exposed to
blood and body fluids contaminated linens.
“It is our duty to protect those personnel who haven’t assumed
the same risk as patient-care personnel,” Mitchell said during
the webinar presentation, “especially because it may be difficult
to impossible to identify the source patient and also impossible
to run a bloodborne infection panel if the patient is unknown.
Downstream workers who are injured or exposed undergo
post-exposure prophylaxis, which can be emotionally and physically
devastating to the employee and to the healthcare institution.”
In terms of where the events are happening, of 1,313 total
records, 547 (41.7 percent) of injuries occurred in the operating
room/recovery area, while 341 (26.0 percent) occurred in the
patient room/ward, 116 (8.8 percent) happened in the emergency
department, and 72 (5.5 percent) occurred in the procedure room.
The source patient was identifiable in 1,172 (87.9 percent) of
incidents, while the injured worker was the original user of the
sharp item in 532 (68.2 percent) incidences. The sharp item was
considered to be contaminated in 1,137 (86.3 percent) incidences,
and blood was visible on the device in 671 (60.1 percent) events.
Regarding the kind of procedure most often implicated in
injuries, the EPINet data showed that suturing caused 220 (28.1
percent) incidences, while intramuscular/subcutaneous injection
caused 202 (25.8 percent) of events. The data show that the injury
occurred during use of the sharp item in 391 (51.7 percent) of
incidences; notably, 111 events (14.7 percent) were logged after
use but before disposal.
A suture needle was cited as the source of the injury in 303
(23.5 percent) incidences, while disposable syringes triggered
252 (19.5 percent) events. What is alarming is that 217 (52.2
percent) injuries/exposures were caused by safety-engineered
devices; the safety mechanism was not activated in 146 (71.6
percent) events. Little or no bleeding occurred in 578 (80.4
percent) cases, while the sharp item penetrated a single pair
of gloves in 428 (61.3 percent) incidences and a double pair of
gloves in 247 (35.4 percent) cases.
Sharp Object Injury & Needlestick Summary Data; N=36 US Health Systems, EPINet 2019
Pre-Filled Cartridge
Retractors, Hemostat
Blood Gas
Wires
Other Needle
Suture
23.5%
Lancets 1%
Scissors
Razors
Glass
Unknown
All Others
Disposable
Syringe
19.5%
Vacuum Tube w Needle
IV Stylet
Winged Steel Needle
Scalpel
16 august 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com