Abstract
Health professionals often come in contact with blood and other body fluids of patients, and blood-related viral infections caused by syringes or sharp instruments such as scalpels and needles have become a major problem. In the period between January 1996 and December 1997, there were 58 needlestick injuries (including cuts) at our hospital. The personnel involved included 20 physicians, 32 nurses, two technicians, three nursing aides, and one nursing student. Needlestick injuries were most prevalent in May and June and the majority occurred in personnel (43 out of 58) with less than 5 years of working sxperience. The left hand was injured in 63.8% (37 out of 58) of the cases and the right hand in 32.8% (19 out of 58). Most injuries happened in the morning [62.1% (36 cases) ver-sus 37.9% (22 cases) in the afternoon]. Various instruments were involved in the accidents, with 16 injuries (27.6%) occurring while recapping used needles.
The patients involved included 26 males (mean age: 60.7 years), 24 females (mean age: 64.5 years), and three children (female). Five injuries occurred during handling of used blood collection needles. Eight out of 50 patients (16.0%) were positive for HBs antigen and 26 out of 46 (56.5%) were positive for anti-HCV antibody. The positive rate for either of these viruses was 73.9% (34 out of 46), but none of the health personnel was found to be infected with either virus.
Needlestick injuries caused by syringes or blood collection needles accounted for the majority of blood contamination injuries and the most frequently affected injuries site was the hands. Therefore, it is necessary to develop measures to prevent injuries to the hands in order to decrease accidental contamination.
