Knowledge and response of health care workers after needle - stick injury in a tertiary care hospital setting in tribal Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

Background: Health care workers (HCW) who have occupational exposure to blood are at increased risk for acquiring blood-borne infections. Occupational exposure to blood can result from per-cutaneous injury (needle stick or other sharps injury), muco-cutaneous injury or contact with non-intact skin. Hence not only doctors and nurses even laboratory technicians, housekeeping personnel and hospital waste handlers are at risk of harboring the blood borne infections through needle-stick injury (NSI).Methods: The present prospective cross sectional study was carried out at the 400 bedded Government Medical College Hospital, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India, during period from November 2015 to August 2016. Out of total study participants, 18 were doctors, 142 nurses and 20 lab technicians from different clinical departments/wards of the hospital. Data was collected by using a predesigned pretested questionnaire and analyzed using appropriate statistical software.Results: Out of 180 HCW, 149 (82.78%) were females and, 31 (17.22%) were males. Majority 78 (43.3%) of the subjects said that the physician should be consulted after NSI within one hour. 51.1% of the subjects surprisingly replied that it was not necessary to report NSI. Around 72 (40%) of the subjects had history of NSI sometime in their life till then. Out of total exposed respondents, 56/72 (77.8%), took ICTC consultation. Out of total subjects who consulted ICTC, 51/56 (91.1 %), were suggested to take PEP by the ICTC physician. Out of 51 subjects who were advised PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis) by ICTC Physician, 45 (88.2%) started PEP within 1 hr of NSI. Majority of the participants replied that most probability of getting NSI was while drawing blood sample from the patients (29.2%). 68.9% of the study subjects were immunized completely against Hepatitis B.Conclusions: The study subjects had adequate knowledge about NSI and their response in the form of actions that have to be taken after NSI was also satisfactory. The response in the form of taking consultation from a specialist and taking PEP was appreciable but it needs to be improved upon.

Prevalence of needlestick injury among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In this study, the lifetime NSI pooled prevalence (43.6%) was comparable with studies found from India (40% and 45%) [64, 65], Iran (42.5%) [66], Nigeria (46.0%) [67], Saudi Arabia (46%) [68], and Pakistan (45%) [69]. However, very high prevalence estimates were found from Pakistan (77%) [70], Iran (76%) [71], and India (68.3%) [72].…”

Global prevalence of needle stick injuries among nurses: A comprehensive systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Another comprehensive analysis in Iran found an NSI prevalence estimate between 10% and 84.3% (Fereidouni et al, 2018). A study by Yazie et al in Ethiopia reported a pooled NSI prevalence of 43.6% over a person's lifetime, which was similar to those in studies from India (40% and 45.0%) (Farrukh Nagi et al, 2017; Makade et al, 2017; Yazie et al, 2019), Iran (42.5%), Nigeria (46.0%), Saudi Arabia (46%) (Jahan, 2005) and Pakistan (45%) (Afridi et al, 2013). However, extremely high prevalence estimates were observed in Pakistan (77%), Iran (76%) and India (68%) (Archana Lakshmi et al, 2018; Jahangiri et al, 2016; Rais & Jamil, 2013), possibly due to a lack of occupational health and infection prevention training or a lack of suitable or proper personal protective equipment.…”

Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Workers in AL-Madinah AL-Munawara Governmental Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

“…(Ashat et al, 2011) Almost twenty diseases can be transmitted by NSI including HBV, HCV and HIV; vaccination is available only for HBV. (Makade, Bhawnani, Verma, & Dengani, 2017) In the 1970s, the risk of acquiring HBV was 10 times greater in HCWs than in the general population; this significantly decline is due, in part, to deliberate vaccination campaign targeting HCWs. (Kuhar et al, 2013) In our study, (10%) of the injured personnel were not immunized at all and (18.6%) were partially immunized against hepatitis B at the time of injury, that put them at potential risk of acquiring HBV (Singhal et al, 2009).…”

“…In terms of respondents' knowledge of the risks and hazards of NSI, the majority of the respondents (80.4%) scored above average score; which is similar to what had been found in tertiary hospital in India. (Makade et al, 2017) Although the majority (80%) knew that, Hepatitis B vaccine protects against HBV infection; only 47.1% knew that HBV is more contagious than HCV and HIV, and 35.7% knew that HIV is not spread by either shaking hands or sharing same food utensils; which indicate critical level of knowledge about these serious infectious diseases. Physicians were found to have a significantly higher level of knowledge about the risks and hazards of NSI than nurses and technicians, which corresponds to what has been reported in the UK, (Stein, Makarawo, & Ahmad, 2003) This could be explained by the physicians' relatively rich theoretical background, characterizing didactic teaching of the physicians than other medical staff.…”