Risk Factors of Needle Stick and Sharps Injuries among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Egypt: a Retrospective Study

Document Type : New and original researches in the field of Microbiology.

Authors

1 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

2 Quality Assurance and Accreditation Unit, Cairo University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt

3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Exposure to needle stick and sharps injuries is probably one of the most common accidents in medical care practices. Objective: The present study was conducted to determine risk factors of exposure to sharps injuries and select priorities for minimizing future incidents. Method: A retrospective survey was implemented from January to December 2016 on healthcare workers and anonymous self-administered questionnaire was completed by participants. Results: Nurses represented 62.5% of the study group. High rate of injuries was encountered in inpatient (42.5%) and emergency room (19%) mainly during use of needles in patients. The situation of exposure was mainly during use of the device through sampling, intravenous injection (53%). Conclusions: Nurses are among the highest group at risk who need adequate training on safe handling and disposal of sharps as well as application of polices and post-exposure prophylaxis.

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