Journal of The Academy of Clinical Microbiologists

Register      Login

VOLUME 23 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2021 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

Prevalence of needlestick injury and factors associated with needlestick injury among health-care workers in a tertiary care hospital

Sowmya Sridharan, Yamunadevi Ramanathan, Senthur Nambi Panchatcharam, Ramasubramanian Venkatasubramanian

Keywords : Health-care workers, needlestick injury, occupational injury, percutaneous exposure

Citation Information : Sridharan S, Ramanathan Y, Panchatcharam SN, Venkatasubramanian R. Prevalence of needlestick injury and factors associated with needlestick injury among health-care workers in a tertiary care hospital. 2021; 23 (1):24-28.

DOI: 10.4103/jacm.jacm_47_21

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 16-09-2021

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2021; Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd.


Abstract

INTRODUCTION: One of the most common causes of occupational injury in hospitals is needlestick injury (NSI). Most injuries are self-inflicted but a few are inflicted by coworkers. The WHO reports that out of the 35 million health-care workers (HCWs), 2 million experience percutaneous exposure to infectious diseases each year. Early and prompt reporting of NSI enables hospitals to provide post-exposure prophylaxis and counselling as needed. Here, we present our hospital data for the year 2019. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim and objective of the study are to calculate the incidence of NSI among HCWs in our hospital for the year 2019 and to analyse the reasons for the NSI and to formulate corrective actions for the same. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study of NSI from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 at our tertiary care hospital. We performed a root cause analysis for the same. RESULTS: A total of 59 cases of NSI were documented. The highest incidence of NSI was in the operation theatre(47.45%). Among all health care workers, doctors had the highest NSI incidents(40.6%), Around 63%(37) of the cases happened due to technique errors such as improper handling (while passing sharp instruments) and poor sharp management (while loading the scalpel blade over the handle). CONCLUSION: NSI is a fully preventable occupational hazard. Prompt reporting of NSI is needed for corrective measures.


PDF Share
  1. Schillie S, Murphy TV, Sawyer M, Ly K, Hughes E, Jiles R, et al. CDC guidance for evaluating health-care personnel for hepatitis B virus protection and for administering postexposure management. MMWR Recomm Rep 2013;62:1-19.
  2. Available from: https://www.who.int/occupational_health/activities/2needguid.pdf. [Last accessed on 2021 Jul 16].
  3. Adams S, Stojkovic SG, Leveson SH. Needlestick injuries during surgical procedures: A multidisciplinary online study, Occup Med 2010;60:139-44.
  4. Goel V, Kumar D, Lingaiah R, Singh S. Occurrence of needlestick and injuries among health-care workers of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India. J Lab Physicians 2017;9:20-5.
  5. Sharma R, Rasania S, Verma A, Singh S. Study of Prevalence and Response to Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi, India. Indian J Community Med 2010;35:74-7.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.