Needle Stick Injury Healthcare Workers

Sharps injuries are a significant injury and health hazard for health care workers and also result in a number of direct and indirect organizational costs.

Needle stick injury healthcare workers.

Needlestick injuries are a hazard for people who work with hypodermic syringes and other needle equipment. Centers for disease control and prevention estimate that nationwide between 600 000 and 800 000 injuries from contaminated sharps occur in health care settings each year. When not disposed of properly needles can hide in linen or garbage and injure other workers who encounter them unexpectedly. Medical workers are at risk for getting injured by needles and other devices used to puncture or lacerate the skin sharps.

Most needlestick injuries result from unsafe needle devices rather than carelessness by healthcare workers jshq 1998 summer safer needle devices have built in safety control devices such as those that use a self sheathing needle to help prevent injuries before during and after use through safer design features. Of these many if not most go unreported 2. Needlestick injuries represent a significant yet underrecognized occupational hazard for health care workers. Your chances of catching a disease from a single needle stick are usually very low.

According to the cdc some 385 000 health care workers accidentally stick themselves with needles every year. Indeed it is estimated that in excess of 600 000 needle stick injuries occur to us health care workers every year each a potential exposure to disease diseases such as hepatitis b hepatitis c and hiv. Needlesticks are a common occurrence in the health care profession. It further notes that 37 6 of hepatitis b 39 of hepatitis c and 4 4 of hiv aids in health care workers around the world are due to needlestick injuries.

Wash needlesticks and cuts with soap and water. Sharps injuries can expose health care workers to harmful bloodborne pathogens. These injuries can occur at any time when people use disassemble or dispose of needles. Both massachusetts and federal law require massachusetts hospitals to.

The centers for disease control and prevention cdc estimates that about 385 000 sharps related injuries occur annually among health care workers in hospitals. In a new report devex in partnership with bd explores the gaps and opportunities in. It is estimated that 600 000 to 800 000 needlestick injuries occur per year in the united states 1. More recent data from the exposure prevention information network epinet.