Knowledge, awareness and practice regarding needle stick injuries in dental profession in India: A systematic review

Abstract

Background:Hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers remain susceptible to deadly viruses throughout the year, including blood-borne pathogens. Needle stick injuries (NSI) constitute one of the most common occupational health hazards in healthcare profession. Dental professionals are at more risk of acquiring NSI due to their limited and restricted working area. The present systematic review was carried out to determine knowledge, awareness and practice regarding NSI in dental professionals and students in India.Materials and Methods:A systematic review of cross-sectional studies available in the literature on the knowledge, attitude and practice among dental professionals and students in India was carried out. We identified relevant articles through electronic and manual search such as Pubmed and MEDLINE. Two investigators independently identified studies that were included in the review.Results:Four articles were finally selected for inclusion in the review. All the studies were done involving dental students; 89.23% of the students had correct knowledge about NSI and 91.55% of the students had adequate level of awareness regarding its management in one of the studies. Also, 89% of students in one of the studies were aware of taking post-exposure prophylaxis after accidental NSI. In another study, 44% of the students destroyed the needles using a needle destroyer and 15% destroyed them in puncture-resistant containers.Conclusion:The knowledge and awareness of the dental students is adequate, although there is considerable variation in practice and management of NSI among different studies. There is a need for more studies involving dental professionals.

Knowledge and awareness of effective recycling of dental materials and waste management among Peruvian undergraduate students of dentistry: A logistic regression analysis

“…[ 17 ] Taking into account all of the above, our results are consistent with the results of the systematic review conducted by Kapoor et al . [ 18 ] who showed that although the level of knowledge and awareness of dental students regarding the management of dental waste is adequate, it should be increased. Further studies with dentists and other dental professionals should be carried out, as there is little literature on the level of knowledge and awareness of dentists.…”

Evaluation of the knowledge and attitudes of dental students toward occupational blood exposure accidents at the end of the dental training program

“…'s review. [ 47 ] This one is much more focused on needlestick injuries (NSI) among dental students, related knowledge level, awareness level regarding management of NSI and postexposure prophylaxis.…”

Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Protocol After Needle Stick Injury among Medical Students

“…There are many ways that disease can be transmitted, depending on the needle and the pathogens loaded in it. Previous articles revealed that every year around 3 million individuals got injured by NSI (Gambhir et al, 2013). Maximum care and precautions should be required to handle the needle or sharp objects.…”