Needle Stick Injuries among Healthcare Workers of Cairo University Tertiary Care Hospitals between Incidence, Knowledge and Response

Bassiouny, Dina M.; Said, Amal M.; Elkashef, Sabrin M.M.; El Anwar, Alaa H.; El Shanawany, Pakinam; Essam, Sara

doi:10.21608/ejmm.2024.331304.1363

Needle Stick Injuries among Healthcare Workers of Cairo University Tertiary Care Hospitals between Incidence, Knowledge and Response

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

Authors

¹ Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

² Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

³ Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

⁴ Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejmm.2024.331304.1363

Abstract

Background: Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are Major occupational hazards, especially among Health Care Workers (HCWs). Serious blood-borne illnesses of human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS), Hepatitis B, and C can spread through NSIs. Objectives: The study's goals were to assess the knowledge, attitude, and response of healthcare workers toward needle stick injuries. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted, using a convenient sample of 470 healthcare workers from Cairo University Hospitals. Data were collected by questionnaire from February 2024 to May 2024. Results: The prevalence of NSIs among HCWs was 23.2%, which was higher in nurses compared to specialized doctors and other study groups. The highest number of needle stick injuries occurred due to needle recapping (35.5%). A significant relation was found between NSIs and the job categories and between NSIs and the years of experience. A considerable percentage of the participants performed satisfactorily in taking the immediate correct post-exposure action of washing the prick site with soap and water 94% of nurses, 85% of specialized doctors, 77% of house officers, and 100% of lab technicians. Completely immunized HCWs against Hepatitis B constituted 57% of the study participants. Conclusion: The study showed that the majority of NSI incidents occurred due to syringe recapping and these incidents can be prevented by increasing training on safe injection practices and introducing new safe injection devices.

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